Moonlight
by Cleo Clipper
Summary: AU. When the day is done and night falls, Nathan Scott's home is turned into a living hell. With a mother that's almost always drugged and a father that turns him into a punching bag, Nathan relies heavily on Lucas to pull him through. Slash Lucas/Nathan. Finished.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: ****Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!**

**Author's Note: **This is an AU where Lucas and Nathan are not brothers! They are just best friends. Lucas' father died when he was younger.

Disclaimer: I do not own One Tree Hill or any of it's characters. I'm just using them for fun :)

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><p>The moonlight shone brightly through the vast glass window of the second story bedroom. It reflected off the off-white walls and sunk into the carpet of Nathan Scott's large bedroom. The moonlight revealed all and shone brightly on all things that wanted to be kept in the dark, including one Nathan Scott, who was curled up in the middle of his bedroom floor. Hot tears streamed down his face, causing his already battered body to ache even more. His body shook as he suppressed his grief at being in this situation yet again. This time, however, he had no idea if his mother was even alive. And he knew that next time, he could most likely die at the hands of his father. Nathan blinked more tears out of his dull, blue eyes as the night's events played through his mind like a movie.<p>

_Tonight, Dan Scott was pissed. Tonight, Dan Scott was extremely pissed—more so than usual—because the Ravens had lost their biggest game of the season: the championship game against the Pontiacs. The loss wasn't Nathan's fault, hell he delivered better than Dan had during his championships, but the simple fact that they lost was ammunition for Dan to get angry._

_ And when Dan got angry, he tended to take his anger out on those closest to him: Nathan and his mother. _

_ As soon as the front door closed, Dan had started yelling. Yelling about the Pontiacs being a below average team, how the Ravens should have beat them, about Lucas Roe supposedly stealing his son's spotlight and __**"…he shouldn't be handling the ball in the first place, that incompetent bastard!"**__ Nathan wasn't really paying attention to the man; he did tend to rant a lot. _

_ Until a fist connected with the back of his head. _

_ Deb had screamed when he fell, his head inches from hitting the edge of their granite countertops, but he barely registered this when he felt a sharp pain in his ribs from where Dan had kicked him, and he continued to feel this pain over and over again, with no ending coming to this barrage on his ribcage…_

_ Deb finally spurred into action when Dan began his angry assault, and threw a plate that was sitting on the counter at Dan, aiming for his head. The plate hit its target, and Dan stumbled momentarily, giving Nathan enough time to crawl to the other side of the counter, gaining space between him and his assailant. Dan's face change from shock to pure rage, and he gave an enraged growl as he started towards Deb, his face growing flush from pure anger. _

_ Nathan managed to hoist himself up and kick his foot out as Dan came around the corner, hitting Dan in his knee cap and, with a cry of pain, Dan fell to the floor, inches from falling on top of his wounded son. Nathan quickly scrambled to get away from Dan—the punishment was going to be severe now—his mother already half dragging, half carrying him around the corner and to their front door, when Dan brutally grabbed Nathan's still healing ankle from last week's beating, causing Nathan to cry out in pain and his mother to drop him from the sudden tugging. Dan pulled Nathan back to him and crawled up to meet his face at the same time, inserting a knee between Nathan's legs and thrusting so hard that Nathan saw stars. He barely felt it when Dan's thick hands wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze viciously, intending to break the flesh beneath them. _

_ Deb, beside herself with fear, threw herself to the ground and, having no weapon to fend off Dan this time, slapped at him desperately, begging and pleading with him to leave Nathan alone and to let him live. Tears spilled down her face and dripped into Nathans hair as she wrestled in vain with Dan, mindful of Nathan's head beneath her. Dan let up on Nathan and returned Deb's slaps tenfold, the slaps turning into punches and sending her head into a counter, leaving Nathan to fend for himself. Nathan finally regained his breath and opened his eyes, in time to see his mother knocked unconscious, and immediately began to go towards her. _

_ "Mom!" he protested weakly, before the wind was knocked out of him again as Dan kneed him in the stomach. He doubled over, gasping, and felt himself being dragged by his basketball jersey up the stairs, past his room, and into the study, where Dan's most vicious beatings took place. Nathan whimpered as he was thrown to the floor, blood from his nose already staining the hardwood floors and he looked up with fearful blue eyes to see Dan with a smile of pure evil on his face. _

_ He was in for hell. _

Nathan had managed to roll onto his back and sit up halfway when the pain hit him hard. He shoved his good hand into his mouth to keep from crying out too loudly, and, breathing heavily through his nose, managed to sit up completely and lean against his bed. Directly in front of him was his full length mirror, reflecting the moonlight through the open window. Nathan crawled gingerly to the front of the mirror and began assessing his injuries.

He had a cut on his forehead from where he fell on the floor, and another cut on his chin. The bruises—he knew there would be plenty of bruises—were varying in size, the worst ones (from what he could see) being the two around his neck that looked like hands that wrapped around his neck. He was almost positive he had at least two broken ribs, if not more, and he didn't even want to look at his back, that hurt the most out of everything.

Slowly, so as not to jostle his sore body any more, Nathan got to his knees, which were bruised from Dan keeping him on them for so long, and stood to full height. He ran a hand through his hair, grimacing at the pain he felt from when Dan had grabbed his hair to yank his head back as he pleasured himself using his mouth…

Shaking his head to will away the awful memories, Nathan located his gym bag that Dan threw in the room while he was cleaning up his mess, and began throwing clothes and items he thought he would need. He briefly worried about his mother, and the kind of condition she was in, but he knew that Dan wouldn't inflict the same kind of damage on to her that he received.

'Nights like these are the worst,' he thought with a shiver of fear. No wonder why his mother was drugged up all the time. He honestly couldn't blame the woman; she was in a living hell, with no hope of ever getting out.

Nathan walked into his walk in bathroom and flipped the switch, the light illuminating what the moonlight couldn't. Here, he could plainly see the bruises that marred his chest and his neck. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and red from crying. The cuts on his head and his chin were minor and would heal without scaring.

It was his mental and emotional scarring he was more concerned with.

He grabbed his toothbrush and his cologne from the counter before exiting and getting his bag. When he zipped the bag up, he found an old hoodie of his on his bed to slip over his head before grabbing his keys and cellphone and silently closing the door. He quickly and quietly made his way down the stairs, and through the darkened house, slipping his feet into flip-flops by the back door and going to his car. He gave a sigh of relief when no noise alerted him that someone was coming, and he hopped into his car, stuck the keys in the ignition, and took off driving.

He hoped Lucas was still awake.

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><p>This is my first time posting my writing anywhere, so I would appreciate constructive criticism and just overall feedback on the story so far. Thanks :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

**Author's Note: **This is an AU where Lucas and Nathan are not brothers! They are just best friends. Lucas' father died when he was younger.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews! I agree with **bobbysinger200** that this pairing definately does not get enough love :( But I plan on changing that!

This chapter is more of a filler chapter, but it does introduce Lucas into the story and this is where the slash does begin :)

Disclaimer: I don't own, sadly. I just own this plot

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><p>Lucas Roe stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars that were illuminating his bedroom ceiling. He shifted under his blankets to turn towards the door when he heard a car park and stop outside. He knew that it had to be Nathan; he usually came around this time when he was forced to be home, beaten and bruised from his father's latest forms of punishment. Lucas always hoped that each time would be different, that when Nathan came he wouldn't have any bruises or cuts or those leaden blue eyes that spoke volumes of the abuse and suffering he experienced at home.<p>

He prayed that tonight would be different for Nathan, but since they lost the championship, he knew this wasn't the case.

He tried, albeit desperately, to get Nathan out of going home with his father, tried to get his best friend to just come with him to the café where Hayley and Brooke and the rest of the Tree Hill gang would be celebrating the fact that they even made it as far as the championships. Nathan had agreed—Nathan would never turn down an opportunity to get away from that monster—but Dan always, _always_, got Nathan to do things his way.

_Lucas held both of Nathan's hands in his, their fingers laced together. They were standing behind the school gym where the game had taken place, where no one would see them. The moonlight was blocked by the gym, leaving the area in complete darkness; the light didn't illuminate the true relationship between the best friends as they stole kisses from each other, happiness in both their eyes as they enjoyed their time together. Nathan leaned against the stone wall, touching his forehead to Lucas', embracing the moment with a smile dancing in his eyes. _

_ Nathan dipped his head and stole another kiss from his boyfriend, drawing him in so his arms wrapped around his waist. Lucas immediately wrapped his arms around Nathan, their foreheads never parting. He could feel Nathan's breathe against his lips and he smiled. "Come home with me babe."_

_ Nathan's smile faltered slightly but he didn't let go of Lucas. "I can't. Dad wants me to go straight home, he's pretty pissed that we lost; probably even more pissed that he can't find me right now."_

_ Lucas pressed a quick kiss to Nathan's slightly swollen lips before pulling back a bit and looking into Nathan's eyes. "Nathan, please, just come with me. Hales wants you to watch her sing her duet with Chris at the café and my mom misses you. She even said you could stay the night." _

_ Nathan sighed, rubbing their noses together. "I can't, Luke. You know how he gets, if I don't do exactly what he says when he says it, there'll be a worse punishment than the one I've got coming. I'll come over tonight, promise."_

_ Disappointment was obvious in the younger's eyes and he cupped Nathan's face with one hand. "That's why you need to come with me! Your father is pissed because we lost the game. I saw his face, and he is not going to let you off easy whether you come home tonight or tomorrow. What if he goes too far this time, then what Nate? What's gonna happen when…?"_

_ Nathan silenced him with a passionate kiss, one that they both felt from head to their toes. He pulled back and leaned his head against the wall, bringing Lucas into an embrace. _

_ "I know you're worried, Luke, but I'll be fine. I always get through this with him and tonight will be no different. Don't worry about me, babe, I'll be okay, and I'll be back in your bed before you know it." _

_ Lucas opened his mouth to say something when they heard footsteps coming into the alley. They quickly parted before the very person they were talking about appeared in the sliver of moonlight that illuminated the alley. _

_ "Nathan, there you are. We need to go, your mother is waiting." Dan Scott's voice held a warning of severe punishment should he choose to disagree. Lucas felt rather than saw Nathan tense up and resisted the urge to hold him, to tell Dan to fuck off and leave him alone. _

_ Nathan slowly went to his father, who placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed hard, making him flinch. With a glare towards Lucas, he turned Nathan and steered him out of the ally, leaving Lucas alone to fear for his boyfriend. _

Lucas was brought out of his musings when he heard light footsteps approaching his door. He quickly and quietly stood and rushed to open the door. The sight of an upset-looking Nathan made his heart thunder madly in his chest as he drew Nathan into his arms. His heart ached as he felt Nathan shake with silent sobs, and he wished with everything he had that Dan would drop dead.

Pushing Dan into the back of his mind, he whispered words of comfort and love to his lover, pushing his back door closed with his foot. Slowly, gently, he guided Nathan over to his bed and set him down. Turning on the lamp on his nightstand, Lucas was able to clearly see the extent of Dan's damage. He took in the cuts on his face, and the purpling bruises around Nathan's neck, and he knew that the damage was worse below.

Lucas grabbed Nathan's shirt and slowly pulled it over the injured boy's head, his mind spinning at the huge purple and black bruises that were already starting to form. He looked over Nathan's arms, but he didn't find any bruising. Dan always made sure to leave his mark where he knew it wouldn't be visible.

Lucas reached into his drawer in the nightstand and pulled out a healing cream, and with gentle fingers, he massaged it into the bruises on Nathans neck, chest, and back. When he was done he placed a kiss on Nathan's lips and threw the bottle on the floor.

Nathan scooted over to the other side of the bed to make room for Lucas, and settled into the warm blankets as Lucas turned off his lamp. He felt soft arms wrap around him and he drew Lucas to him, kissing him on the head and placing his head under his chin. Lucas placed a kiss on his wounded neck and murmured a 'goodnight,' before quickly falling asleep. Nathan whispered back an 'I love you,' following Lucas to the land of dreams, the moonlight shining through the partly opened window.

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><p>As always, reviews and feedback are appreciated!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

**Author's Note: **I'm sorry this took so long! School has been hectic (college is no joke) and midterms have started and what not, but now chapter 3 is here!

I also wanted to address a question that **liverpoolss** asked regarding Karen and if she knew about the relationship between Lucas and Nathan. She knows that they are really close because they've been friends for so long, but she doesn't really know the true extent of their relationship. She also knows that Nathan has a hard home life (hence why he's always at their house), but she doesn't know about the abuse because they manage to cover up Nathan's visible bruises. Hope that helps!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be struggling in college right now.

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><p><em>Nathan was running, grasping his mother's hand as they wove through the maze of hedges, gasping for breath, the sound of heavy footsteps closely following their own. Dan was coming closer, his harsh breathing causing Nathan's hair to stand on end. He looked around frantically for an escape, but Dan was too close, reaching for them with brutal hands. <em>

_ A scream resounded as Dan gripped Deb by her hair and yanked, causing her to fall and Nathan to stumble. She began pleading, "Leave us alone, please! Please, I'll do anything, just don't hurt him please! I…"_

_ There was a chocking sound, a resounding crack, and then nothing as Nathan regained his footing and whirled around to where his mother had fallen…only to see Lucas in her place, struggling to breathe as Dan slowly took his life. _

_A fear like Nathan had never known before gripped his heart, and he lunged, without thinking, at Dan, trying to wrestle him down, trying to get him away from Lucas, to keep him safe…_

_He was thrown to the side like a ragdoll, and Dan stood up without issue. Nathan rolled over in time to see Dan lift Lucas by his dirty-blonde hair, his face bruised and bloody, and a gun being pointed at his temple. _

_He let out a terrified, "Lucas!" before the trigger was pulled. _

"Nathan! Nathan, come on man, wake up! Nathan!" Lucas shook the thrashing boy in his arms as he fought to break free. He was trying to be quiet so he wouldn't wake his mom but it was proving difficult given how wired Nathan was in his sleep.

Suddenly, Nathan's eyes shot open, and he thrashed his head violently as he looked around for something, or someone. He took a couple of heaving breaths as he began to realize where he was. He glanced up at the blonde.

"Lucas," he breathed. "You're…okay."

Lucas ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Yeah baby, I'm here. You're okay." He kissed Nathan's forehead, heart clenching tightly at Nathan's peril.

After a few more minutes, Nathan brought his breathing under control. He sat up, the blankets pooling in his lap to reveal a defined chest. He felt Lucas' arms come around his chest in a hug, a kiss being placed between his shoulder blades and a forehead resting there. The comfort and support Lucas managed to bring with just a simple hug was amazing to him.

It was one of the reasons he fell in love with him.

_ Nathan sat numbly on the couch in Lucas' living room, soaked to the bone after running in the pouring rain to his house after another violent fight with his father. Dan had drugged Deb up early that night, so she wasn't able to help her son fend off his father, so he ran to the one place he knew he would be safe. _

_ Lucas, who had been on the phone with his girlfriend Peyton at the time, had quickly hung up when he saw Nathan and the black eye he was sporting. He quickly checked Nathan over for anymore bruises and cuts before going to get the ice pack out of the refrigerator. Then he went to his room, and came back with pajama bottoms for Nathan; he hoped his mom wouldn't wake and hear them; the last thing he needed was for her to discover a vulnerable Nathan. _

_ Nathan muttered a thank you before stripping out of his soaking clothes and getting into the warm pajamas. He gingerly placed the ice pack on his eye and heaved a heavy sigh, wondering how the hell thinks got so bad at home. _

_ Lucas kneeled in front of him and placed a hand on his knee. "You wanna talk about it?"_

_ Nathan shook his head in response, damp hair falling in front of his haunted eyes. Lucas' felt the pain roll off Nathan in waves and he wrapped his arms around him in a hug, hating to see his best friend since 4__th__ grade suffer. _

_ Nathan dropped the pack and returned the hug tightly, tears welling up in his eyes as he buried his nose in Lucas' neck. He lived for these hugs, never turning one down from Lucas when he wanted to comfort Nathan or when he needed to be comforted. He always felt safe in Lucas' arms, felt that nothing could hurt him in that warm embrace he'd come to rely on so much. He pressed his lips to Lucas' neck discretely, not wanting to raise questions, but not being able to restrain himself from this beautiful boy. This boy that knew him inside and out. This boy that was always there when he needed him the most._

_ This boy whom he loved with all his heart. _

_ Eventually, Lucas pulled back and grabbed the ice pack to put the ice pack in the freezer. After turning out all the lights in the kitchen he made his way back to Nathan, grabbing his hand and pulling him up from the couch. "Let's go to bed, Nate." He started walking but was pulled back by Nathan, a strange look in his eyes. _

_ "Nate?" Lucas questioned. He felt slightly alarmed; what was happening?_

_ Nathan said nothing as he pulled Lucas closer to him, so close that their noses were inches away from touching. He could feel Lucas' nervous breaths on his lips, paused, and, before he could talk himself out of it, he bent down slightly and pressed his lips gently to the blonde's. _

_ Lucas went completely still, causing Nathan to think he had completely ruined his friendship with him. He pulled away quickly, preparing his explanation and his escape out this incredibly awkward situation, when Lucas brought Nathan's head back, crushing his lips to his. Nathan's hands went to cup Lucas's face as Lucas' arms wrapped around Nathan's waist as he kissed Nathan thoroughly. Nathan ran his tongue along the seam of Lucas' lips, which parted invitingly, moaning when their tongues met and danced. _

_ When air became a necessity, Nathan pulled back a bit, and Lucas whined at the loss of contact. Nathan stroked Lucas' cheeks, both of them breathing heavily through their noses as their lips met again, savoring this moment and each other, the rain continuing to pour outside. _

Nathan smiled at the memory; that was the first time he allowed himself to hope for something more between him and the blonde. It was the first time he let himself believe that his love for the blonde could be reciprocated.

Nathan was brought out of past memories by kisses along his shoulder blades and his neck. He quickly turned and wrapped one arm around the blonde and bringing him closer, their lips meeting in a slow kiss as he pushed him back on the bed, hovering over him. Lucas' hands came to cup his neck and he raked his nails lightly down his back as they kissed passionately. Nathan began trailing kisses down his chest causing Lucas to moan softly, the early morning light casting a soft glow on the two lovers as Nathan reached Lucas' bellybutton, dipping his tongue in and swirling it around teasingly, making Lucas laugh softly, then biting back another moan as Nathan continued to leave hot, open-mouthed kisses even lower. He reached the black silk boxers his boyfriend had on and slowly pulled them down, his manhood springing forth.

"Nathan please," the blonde whined. Nathan smirked at his boyfriend's needy tone and placed languid kisses along the inside of his thighs, ignoring his one place of need, his own erection throbbing painfully but determined to pleasure Lucas before himself. He placed a kiss on the tip causing Lucas to buck up, another whine escaping his lips. Nathan quickly glanced at the clock that read 6:06 a.m. They definitely had time to kill before school.

"I love you," Nathan murmured gently before finally fulfilling Lucas' needs.

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><p>Thanks for reading. Please Review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

**Author's Note: **I want to thank everyone who has reviewed, put me on alert, or put this story on their favorites list. It really means a lot to me, and you guys keep me writing :) I got this next chapter up faster than I expected, and it's the longest chapter I've written so far, so you should expect them to all be at least this long (or longer) from now on :) Now on with the chapter!

Disclaimer:Still don't own them. Tears.

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><p>Chapter 4<p>

The halls of Tree Hill High were constantly crowded; whether it was with students, faculty, or both, there was always something going on in these halls. This morning, the Tree Hill Raven cheerleaders had decorated each of the basketball player's lockers for the pep rally taking place this afternoon. Currently decorating Lucas' locker was none other than Peyton Sawyer, ex-girlfriend of Lucas, and Brooke Davis, current best friend of said basketball star.

Brooke was happily chatting about the new hot owner of the local bar she met a couple nights ago, but Peyton barely heard any of her mindless chatter. Her mind was currently drifting to thoughts of her ex, again. Their break-up (it _still _hadn't really sunk in yet) was quick and painless on his part, but it seemed like a never-ending ocean of misery for her. What reason could Lucas possibly think that they 'were better off as friends?' What had changed from their time in middle school, when he was obviously so smitten with her and would leap at any chance to just hold her hand, and the day of their break-up to change his mind? Peyton strung up more streamers a bit viciously, a few blonde curls getting in her eyes from the movement. Something had obviously happened, though it couldn't be something with her…could it?

The past seven months they were together were some of the happiest times of her life, and she thought they couldn't get any better. But Lucas always managed to surprise her; leaving her flowers in her locker every day they had a game, even sometimes just because, making her mixes of her favorite songs, introducing her to new ones, and just spending time together at the café and the river court would make Peyton's heart race every time she saw him. Before she knew it, she was so in love with the brooding star basketball player that it made her delirious, and when she told him as much, the smile that he presented her took her breath away. In that moment, she knew that she was always meant to be with Lucas Roe; the boy who had loved her since the sixth grade, even when she was blind to it.

But then, out of nowhere, everything changed. Lucas stopped bringing her flowers and mix tapes. He became distant, like there were other things on his mind when they were together. He started spending less time hanging out with her, and more time with Nathan, or Haley, or Brooke even (she had assured Peyton, however, that nothing was going on between her and Lucas or Lucas and Haley), or at the café with his mom; basically everyone but _her_. At first she was confused, but as he continued to grow more distant, she became angry, and then devastated when he took her aside by the hand one day and uttered the words she'd never thought she'd hear from him.

"_I think we would be better off as friends."_

Peyton wondered, irrationally, if it was a trick of some kind, a prank that Nathan and other basketball players put him up too. But as the day continued on, she realized by lunch that it was real, and she ran out of the school, people giving each other bewildered looks as to what happened. She hopped in her car, and drove to the cemetery, her sobs racking her entire body. There she spent the rest of her day and a good part of her evening, curled up on her mother's grave, weeping bitterly over the boy who broke her heart.

When she had returned to school the next day, people gave her such sympathetic looks that she felt like a pathetic school girl. Brooke had met her by her locker with a Starbucks Carmel Frappuccino in one hand and a face full of such compassion that Peyton broke down all over again.

That had been six weeks and three days ago (not that she was counting or anything, she just knew), and Lucas seemed perfectly fine, she thought bitterly. Of course it would be easy for him to move on; he was the one who ended it. No doubt Nathan and his other buddies took care of him and made sure he wasn't heart-broken at all. But her? Of course she had to suffer. It just wasn't fair! They were dubbed the cutest couple in their class, they beat out Nathan and Haley, (even though they denied they were dating, people seemed to think otherwise and put them on the ballot), and he had just bought her so many presents for their six-month anniversary, including a mix of all the songs that they dubbed "their songs," and a beautiful Tiffany's locket with their pictures inside, which she currently wore around her neck. So what had made him change is mind?

"Peyton! P. Sawyer! Have you been listening to me at all?" Brooke's impatient voice interrupted her brooding thoughts. She smiled apologetically at the brunette, "I'm sorry B, I just got a lot on my mind lately—"

"Oh god, you're _still_ moping over Lucas! Look P, I know you guys were like the cutest couple and you guys were all in love or whatever, but you _seriously_ need to get over the guy. It's been, like, two months! You could've had four rebounds by now and gotten completely over Lucas and back to the Peyton that broods over her usual things!"

"I know! I just…I feel like theirs more to our break-up than he lets on. We were so happy! At least…I thought we were…He seemed happy…I just don't know what…" Peyton stopped talking, frustrated tears that she would not let fall began to cloud her eyes.

Brooke put down the tape and glittery blue A she held and wrapped her arms around the curly-haired blonde, feeling the thin arms wrap around her in return. She felt a twinge of guilt; of course she knew the _true_ reason behind their break-up, but she couldn't exactly tell Peyton that the reason Lucas left her was for another _boy_. Peyton was her friend, hell she was one of her best friends, but so was Lucas, and she wouldn't betray his secret. She watched Peyton as her gaze turned to said boy talking to a few friends at the end of the hall, a pained expression crossing her features, and her heart broke just a bit more for the blonde girl. No, she wouldn't tell Peyton the truth.

Even if it was getting harder and harder to lie to her each day.

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><p>"…so if you multiply the square root of three by the square root of seven, what do you get?" Haley James questioned, her fingers tapped over the math problem Nathan had been trying to solve for ten minutes. Nathan glanced at her then back at the problem, mouth coming into a frown. "Seriously, Hales? This makes no sense. How do you get this stuff?"<p>

Haley smiled warmly, "It's not that hard, you just need to know what numbers go where and how to get there." She patted Nathan lightly on the back, immediately noticing when he flinched, then quickly relaxed. She frowned and dropped her voice an octave lower, "Nathan…did he hurt you again?"

Nathan sighed, cursing his reflexes; the last thing he wanted to do is worry the girls. Both Haley and Brooke had enough of their own issues to worry about without him and his fucked up home life adding to it.

"I'm fine Haley, really. Lucas fixed me up and I'm good as new," he said smiling slightly. He also hated lying to his friend, but he did what he could to protect her from all the horrors he faced at home.

"Nathan I know you don't want to hear this, but I really think you need to tell someone. It doesn't have to be the police, but just an adult, Coach Whitey, anybody! You can't keep living like this, and neither can your mom. What if he goes too far one day and he decides to kill you, or your mom overdoses? Then what, Nate?"

"There's nothing for me to do Haley!" Nathan snapped, then quickly lowered his voice and softened his face at the look of hurt that flickered across Haley's features. "I'm sorry, I know you just want to help, but Haley, he's threatened to kill her if I tell anyone. I already took a really big risk by telling you three. I don't want him to come after you guys too," he sighed, wondering for the umpteenth time if maybe he should tell someone. Haley was right; he couldn't keep going home, not with the way things were going. One day, his dad would go too far and then he and his mother would end up dead. But he was frightened as well about what would happen should he tell someone; would they lock Dan up, away for good? No doubt Dan would use the drugs he injected into his mom against her; she spent half the day in a drugged haze of whatever Dan decided to use that morning, sometimes finding the drugs and shooting them up herself and by the time it wore off, he was ready for her next injection or pill, or both if she was particularly vicious towards him, so he could beat Nathan in peace. Would he be allowed to stay with her, help her kick her addictions that were forced upon her? Would social services deem her an unfit mother and send her to get clean? If they sent his mom away and put Dan away, would he go into foster care, have to leave Tree Hill, the only home he's ever known? Would he have to leave his friends, his teammates…Lucas?

The thought of leaving Lucas caused Nathan's chest to tighten considerably, his breathing increasing. He didn't think that he could really function properly without Lucas; they had met in the 4th grade and been inseparable since then. Not a day had gone by since then where they hadn't seen each other at least once. If he were to be completely honest with himself, he couldn't imagine a day without seeing the blonde, a thought that terrified him, but an absolute truth nonetheless. Lucas was an important part of him, and would continue to be so for the rest of his life. Leaving him wasn't an option.

With this resolve Nathan decided, like he did every time, that he _wouldn't_ tell anyone, and he would endure this hell he was in until it came time for college and then he and Lucas would go somewhere far, far, _far_ away from Dan. He looked at Haley again, her sorrowful brown eyes and wrapped his arm around her in a one armed hug. "Don't be sad, Hales. I'm gonna be fine. Dan won't kill his star basketball player he's living vicariously through," he chuckled at his own joke and Haley even gave a smile before it disappeared and the same sad look was back on her face. "Everything is going to be okay, I'll get through this, we all will, and then we'll get the hell out of here. We'll go to California, you can go to Stanford, me and Lucas can go somewhere with a good basketball team, though I think he wants to be a writer more than joining the NBA, and Brooke can get her clothing line going. Everything's going to be fine," he finished, kissing the top of her head. A few other students in the tutoring center looked at them with smiles and a couple of girls cooed over how cute they were. Nathan rolled his eyes; _everyone_ thought that he and Haley were an item, be he guessed it was their fault for not really hindering the rumors. He very well couldn't tell people who he was actually dating out of fear that Dan would find out but he supposed that if he wasn't absolutely in love with Lucas he and Haley would probably be together.

She wrapped her arms around him in a light squeeze and sighed, "I just wish there was something I could do."

"You're doing it Haley; being my friend and getting me through my classes is more than enough," said Nathan with a smile. "Now let's help me pass this test coming up, alright?"

She flashed him another smile and they moved on to the next problem, her mind still on their conversation and how she was going to help Nathan out of this ugly situation.

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><p>By the time lunch rolled around, Nathan was ready to ditch the rest of the day, including practice and the pep rally, and just go shoot at the river court. School definitely took its toll on him, but he promised himself that he was going to get him and his mother away from his father at all costs and his best bet at this point was to suffer through school.<p>

"Hey handsome," Brooke's sultry voice sounded to his left. He smirked at her as she sat down across from him at the table. She took out an apple and an orange and began eating the apple, holding it in her perfectly manicured hand. "Where have you been? I missed you at the café party last night." She fluttered her eyes at him flirtatiously, a smile gracing her face.

Nathan laughed; he and Brooke had always had a flirty kind of relationship. They had dated briefly, but they found they were better off as friends. In fact, they were such good friends that she was the first one he told about his feeling for Lucas. He had been terrified at first, because Brooke seemed to tell Peyton _everything_ and this was something he didn't want the blonde to know and because he didn't know how she would take the fact that her ex-boyfriend was madly in love with her best friend's boyfriend, but when the words came out Brooke simply raised her eyebrows in shock for a moment before pulling Nathan's trembling form into a hug, telling him that everything would be fine. This then led to countless days of Brooke nagging him to grow a pair and tell Lucas how he really felt because everyone deserved a chance to be truly happy with the one they loved. Nathan had scoffed at her but he had been grateful for her support; who knew that Brooke Davis, one of the sluttiest girls at school, could be such a romantic?

"I've missed you too princess, and I had to go home, Dan was pissed we lost the game," said Nathan, his smile slightly dimmed as he remembered all that happened the night before.

Brooke felt her heart break for Nathan and she grabbed his hand, "That bad, handsome?" she questioned.

"It's getting really bad, Brooke. I don't know how much longer I can put up with it," he said ruefully. He looked down at his food before looking back up at her, a determined look in his eyes," But I never go down without a fight."

Brooke smiled, "That's my boy. You're a fighter Nathan; don't ever let him make you think differently. And just know that you have friends, and a very feisty blonde boyfriend that will always have your back, no matter what happens."

"Yeah, I know. Thanks Brooke," said Nathan gratefully. He couldn't imagine a life without the friends he had.

"Speaking of feisty blondes, there's my dear brooding basketball star! Hey Gorgeous, and tutor babe," Brooke said cheerily taking another bite out of her apple, the conversation between her and Nathan ending for now. Lucas sat down next to Nathan casually while Haley sat next to Brooke, his hand brushing Nathan's under the table before holding it, all the while smiling at Brooke. It made Nathan's heart race.

"Hey Cheery, why are you so happy today?" Lucas set down his bag off his shoulder, never letting go of Nathan's hand. The four of them were sitting at a table in front of a tree outside, the tree and the building it was next to shielding Lucas and Nathan from behind, allowing them to enjoy this rare display of affection. At first, Nathan was scared that if he tried to hold his hand, he would reject it for fear of people seeing them but Lucas wasn't scared at all; most of the time he would initiate the hand holding and the light caresses that took place at school and one time before practice had shoved Nathan against the lockers and thoroughly kissed him while their teammates were only a few feet away. Lucas didn't mind telling people, in fact he kind of wanted to let people know, but he had no idea how the team would react, he couldn't see how Peyton would react but he figured it wouldn't be good and he knew that Dan's reaction to finding out his son was not only gay but dating his supposed competition would not end well for Nathan. So he kept his touches to a minimum and his kisses for behind locked doors but relished the opportunity of touching his boyfriend in public whenever he could.

But after two months of his mother asking him why he broke up with Peyton because they were _sooooooo cute_, he decided he was going to tell her the true reason why things didn't work out with her. He hoped she took it well and deep down, he knew his mother would support him and Nathan no matter what.

"What's not to love about today? It's sunny, the birds are chirping, the pep rally has made classes shorter, and every time I see you and handsome together, my day gets just a bit brighter." She grinned at them before finishing off her apple. "You guys are just the cutest thing. Waaaay cuter than you and Peyton, even though she's one of my best friends and I thought you guys were cute, you and Nathan are just absolutely gorgeous."

Haley laughed, "You sound like you want a threesome with them!" She turned to her two best guy friends and smiled, "You guys are adorable though, I'm glad you guys finally got together. If you guys didn't get together by the end of January, Brooke was going to kidnap you both and lock you in a room until you guys figured it out."

"Or until you guys did something about your sexual tension and you ripped each other clothes off and had hot steamy sex—have you guys had sex yet?" Brooke abruptly asked, her brown eyes gazing at them curiously.

Haley gave an indignant "Brooke!" Lucas gave a noise between a laugh and a cough and blushed, looking away, while Nathan gave his trademark smirk, looking like the cat that caught the canary and had the cream too. Brooke laughed excitedly and clapped her hands like a kid on Christmas who got every toy she wanted from Santa. "Oh my god you have! Well now I know who's on bottom!" She winked at Lucas who was now blushing from the tips of his ears as well as his face. "It must be so different for you. To go from being the boy to the girl in the relationship." She laughed at Lucas who was as red as a tomato by now.

Haley shook her head in amusement as Nathan joined in laughing at his boyfriend's expense. Nathan's laughter died down and he immediately let go of Lucas' hand when Peyton approached their table, her eyes only set on Lucas. "Hey Luke, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Nathan resisted the urge to growl; he couldn't _stand_ Peyton Sawyer. He thought she was the whiniest bitch he had ever met, and could not figure out for the life of him what Lucas saw in her. Of course he was supportive of Lucas and his relationship with her and he even hung out with her a couple of times just to acquiesce with his best friend's wishes of the two of them getting to know each other better, but because she was dating Lucas and he wanted him, he grew to hate the curly-haired bimbo. The day they broke up was probably one of the happiest days of Nathan's life, and even though he wished they weren't friends (he _knew_ she still had feelings for Lucas, he wasn't blind) he was happy with the fact that Lucas was solely his from then on and he didn't have to share with Peyton anymore.

"Uh…sure," Lucas consented and rose from the bench. He gave Nathan a quick, reassuring smile before walking off with Peyton to talk. Nathan stared after them for a few seconds before turning back to the girls, who were both grinning at Nathan like they knew something he didn't. "What?" he snapped at them.

They giggled, "You're so cute when you get jealous, Nate," Haley said, a big smile on her face. "There's no way she's going to be able to steal him back, you know. He's definitely all yours. Peyton doesn't stand a chance."

Nathan tried to keep a serious composure, but his smile broke through and his heart thudded in his chest. Yes, Lucas was completely his, and no dumb blonde cheerleader was going to take him away again. He listened to Brooke and Haley's conversation for the rest of lunch, inserting a comment here and there, his mind wandering to what Lucas and Peyton were talking about.

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><p>AN: I know it's a filler chapter, but I believe Dan will make his appearance agian in the next chapter. Please read and review! Thanks :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

A/N: Thank you for the reviews! They make me feel all warm inside :) Now on with the story!

Disclaimer: Still don't own them.

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><p>Debra Lee was a smart woman. She graduated top of her class in high-school and with honors in college. She had a degree in business with a minor in marketing and was able to make deals and create lasting relationships with other businessmen and women in one business meeting. In short, Debra Lee was a hell of a business woman, and could have gotten very, very far in her career.<p>

But when she became Debra Scott, that chance was shot to hell. Her degree didn't matter once she became Dan Scott's wife, because his degree somehow warranted him as the sole bread-winner of the house, and she was stuck having to play happy house wife, when all she wanted was her nine-to-five job at a successful business. She had gotten part time work at an advertising company, but Dan had made her quit after a couple of years, claiming she didn't have to work since she was his wife. She was resentful in this house her husband had trapped her in, and no one understood; her parents were thrilled that such a successful man was taking care of their daughter, and all her 'friends' were housewives as well, born and raised to be such, and didn't quite understand the freedom that working brought women. Time passed, and her resentment grew steadily.

Then Nathan Royal Scott was born, and all was right with the world once again.

She felt like she had a purpose again other than lounging around the house and gossiping about the neighbors over iced tea at three every afternoon. She had a new kind of occupation-the job of being a mother. And it seemed to be more fulfilling than anything her big business degree could give her.

Nathan saved her from her own misery. And she would always love her son for that.

But now she was miserable once again, even worse than when she was just a simple housewife.

She was now a housewife who was beaten and drugged (and she had no doubt that she had been raped _while_ she was under the influence) by the very man who swore to never hurt her. And this time, her poor son was suffering too.

The first time Dan had hit her was in the heat of the moment in a petty argument they'd had in their kitchen about Nathan and basketball. Dan wanted to mold him into the perfect NBA star that he never got to be, while Deb wanted him to try all sports to see if he liked something better before sticking solely to basketball. Dan, in a fit of rage had slapped Deb across the face, and she just stood there, absolutely shocked for a few moments as Dan apologized profusely and tried to take it back. And she forgave him; she was so shocked she decided to forget it happened and believed that it never happened again.

She really should have known better. She should have taken Nathan and left the minute Dan left for work the next morning.

But she didn't want to worry Nathan. No, she didn't want to expose her baby boy to any of her problems; he already had enough on his plate with Dan riding him about joining Little League. That and he was only ten at the time.

And there was possibly nowhere for her to go. She had no job, and no money.

But her feelings changed the moment he hit her, and she knew that the man that she had fallen in love with was gone, and a monster had taken his place. She just didn't realize how much of a monster he would turn out to be.

_The first time Dan hit Nathan, he was 14-years-old. Dan had punched Nathan twice and had thrown him to the ground because Nathan defended his best friend Lucas Roe from his dad's accusations that the boy was trying to sabotage Nathan and his future with basketball. Deb didn't hesitate to take Dan down fighting him with everything she had in her, scarcely believing that this man could hurt their child, her child! Nathan had called out to her, and in a moment of distraction, Dan gained the upper hand and bashing her head into the wall. She told her terrified son to run before she lost consciousness. _

_When she woke up sometime later, she was in the bedroom she shared with that vile creature. She tried sitting up, head pounding and remembered what had happened. _

_ That bastard had touched her son, hit him, and then had beaten the hell out of her. If Deb thought she disliked Dan before, she absolutely __**loathed**__ him now. _

_ She tried to get up; she had to find Nathan and make sure he wasn't hurt, that Dan hadn't hurt him anymore, when said man walked into the room, an evil look upon his face, and stopped when he saw her. "Glad to see you awake, honey. You had such a nasty fall down the stairs. Be careful, you might have a concussion." She stared at him, a look of pure shock on her face, before she got her wits about her. _

_ "Where's Nathan you bastard! What have you done to our son?" _

_ The look Dan had given her was something she would never forget; he had smiled—no, smirked—at her with a look of pure devilishness, and Deb briefly wondered if he was possessed. _

_ "Our son is in his room asleep. He was quite exhausted after practice today." He glared at her as she made to stand, "And where do you think you're going?"_

_ "To get __**my**__ son and get the hell away from you, you pathetic excuse of a man! How __**dare**__ you touch him!" Deb screamed, her fury and fear for Nathan outweighing the pain her body was experiencing. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Dan had crossed the room and was standing before her, holding a syringe in his hand she didn't even see him have. He forced her back on to the bed, his arm going across Deb's neck as her hands were grabbing, slapping, hitting—anything to get Dan off of her. She screamed and started kicking her legs, do everything she could to get him off of her, "Get off me, Dan, get off! Leave me alone!"_

_ Before she could register what had happened, Dan had grabbed one of her arms and injected her with a sedative. It had a quick effect on her, slowing her movements, and she fell back into unconsciousness. _

_ When she woke up again, it was mid-day, and Dan was long gone. She felt so groggy, her limbs felt heavy and weak. She closed her eyes and was about to go back to sleep, when she remembered. _

_ 'Nathan,' she thought, and she willed herself to get up. Her head wasn't pounding like the night before, but she felt so sluggish that she almost gave up. But she had to know if Nathan was alright. _

_ Slowly, so as not to jostle her injured body too much, she quietly crept to the bedroom door, opened it slowly, and peaked out, looking for any signs of her abuser. When she determined the coast as clear, she made her way down the hallway and stopped in front of her son's room. She took a deep breath and opened the door quietly. What she saw brought tears to her eyes. _

_ Nathan was still in his workout clothes the night before, including his shoes; he was curled up on his side, and looked like he hadn't moved all night. But what caused the tears to fall down her face were the apparent bruises on his legs and arms, and cuts that were littered all over the visible parts of his body. She quietly rushed over to him, and turned him over on his back, his face revealing two black eyes and a busted lip. There was a deep black and purple bruise on the right side of his jaw, and bruises in the shapes of fingers on his shoulders. He had a cut somewhere in his hair, for blood had caked on his temple and all over his pillow. He was breathing deep and slow, and Deb sighed with relief for a moment; he was alive, bruised, most likely concussed, but alive. _

_ With all the strength she could muster, Deb picked up her son, who was almost as tall as her, and made her way down the stairs as fast as she could. She nearly dropped Nathan a couple of times (he was pretty heavy) but she managed to make her way down the stairs. She had to get him to a hospital; they needed to get out of this house and away from the psycho that was Dan Scott. She found her purse on the counter where she had left it the night before, and started making her way to the back door, when she heard a click behind her, and froze. _

_ "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Deb. Leaving would be a very, very bad idea," the voice of Dan Scott, so calm and composed sent chills up Deb's spine, and she slowly turned and faced the barrel of the gun Dan currently held in front of him. _

_ "Dan," she started quietly, "Our son needs to go to a hospital. Please, just let me take him, I won't tell them what happened, but he needs help—"_

_ "You walk out that door, and our son will be the least of your worries," Dan snarled. He held the gun steady as he spoke. Deb stared at Dan, trying not to let her panic and fear show. "Take him back upstairs and fix him up; there's a first aid kit you can use, it has everything you need. But Deb, if you ever attempt to leave with __**my**__ son again, it will be the last thing you will ever do. I will not let you take my son from me, and I won't hesitate to get rid of you if you try."_

_ Deb swallowed heavily and shifted Nathan in her arms so that his head was resting on her shoulder, her eyes never leaving the man in front of her. She quickly rushed back up the stairs and into their bedroom, locking the door behind her. She carefully laid Nathan down and went into the bathroom to turn on the water of the massive bathtub, her body shaking the entire time. She went back into the bedroom, and carefully undressed her son, his clothes sticking to his body where blood from his cuts had seeped through. Checking again to make sure he was still breathing, she lifted him again and carried him to the tub, lowering him gently into the warm water, and she sank next to it, her legs finally giving way, and her dam of tears breaking free and rolling down her face. _

_In that moment, she vowed that, even if Dan killed her, she would get Nathan away from his father. She would never again let him touch her baby boy. _

That had been almost three years ago, and the beatings had become worse over time. Deb wasn't sure, but she suspected that when she was sedated, Dan would touch Nathan sexually. She shuddered; no one should ever be subjected to that type of horror, especially not her sweet, baby boy.

She had had enough. She was tired of living in fear every day of her life; she was sick of living nightmare her life had become, wondering if every day would be her last, wondering what was happening to her son when she was rendered useless to him, cleaning up Nathan's wounds, holding him as his anguished sobs that tore her heart in two.

She was tired of the suffering her son went through.

Deb was aware that Nathan would stay at Lucas' house most nights, only coming home for a while to make sure she was alright before quickly leaving again. She couldn't blame him, Dan took out his violence mostly on Nathan, only hitting her when she intervened, though that wasn't too much now since the drugs kept her in bed most days. She never knew why, Dan had absolutely _loved_ Nathan when he was younger and would have never dreamed of hitting him, so what had changed to make this father despise his son? Nathan was absolutely perfect in her eyes; he was the best son any parent could ask for but why couldn't her husband see that? How could he continue to beat the boy down and expect him to perform to his standards in basketball and school? Lord only knew how he was managing all of this and was expected to get good grades as well, lest he be punished severely.

It broke her heart to think that Nathan would suffer through all this for her, so she decided to end it. For her sake and for Nathan's, she would get out, and get her son away from his abuser.

This morning, Dan had left in a rush for a meeting; being the mayor of Tree Hill often required Dan to be gone for most of the day. Deb had woken up to an empty house, something she was always grateful for, and ignoring the bruises on her arms, dressed quickly in jeans and a T-shirt and found a suitcase under the bed. She heaved it onto the bed and began throwing clothes and toiletries into it, not really caring what she grabbed, just grabbing anything and everything she could. When she had finished, she went into Nathan's room and searched his closets for any bags. When she found a suitable one, she grabbed his clothes, shoes, underwear, a picture of him and Lucas, and other things that she thought he might want.

When she deemed the bag packed, she placed it by the stairs. She then went back into her room, grabbed the suitcase, and made her way to the stairs. She lugged both bags down the stairs as quickly as she could, and went out into the garage. She hid the bag with Nathan's clothes in one shelf under the large working station near the garage door, and hers next to it. She found an old tarp they had from when Dan had remodeled part of their kitchen and threw it over them. Then Deb went to the end of the work bench, and opened the hidden compartment underneath the last shelf. There were an extra set of keys to the Lexus Dan drove. She unhooked the keys, and placed them in the tiniest part of her jean pocket. Deb then went back into the house, and poured herself a glass of Jack Daniels. Her heart was pounding, her mind racing with the plan she had in mind, but this was the only thing she could think of that would work, even for only right now.

She just prayed that Keith would be willing to help them.

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><p>Lucas and Peyton had walked a good ways from the buildings before Peyton stopped and turned on one foot to face Lucas. Her blue eyes seemed sad and Lucas sighed mentally, instantly knowing what this conversation was about.<p>

"So I just wanted to see how you were doing, Luke, with everything..." she started off. Lucas mentally cringed at her tone; he _hated_ that sad tone Peyton used on him. It made him feel guilty.

"I've been good Peyton...how have you been?" he asked, trying to sound sincere as possible.

"I've been…okay I guess," she paused, and continued in a small voice, "I just…I really miss you, Luke. I miss _us_, what we had, what we used to be. I miss everything about y—"

"Peyton stop," Lucas said firmly. "I know that our break-up hurt you, and I'm sorry for that, I really am, but you need to understand—"

"Understand?" she said indignantly, angry. "Understand that you came to school one day and decided that we were better off as friends after dating for half a year? Understand that you strung me along for **seven** months before ending it with no good reason? I gave you _**everything**_ and you threw it away like it was nothing, so no Lucas, I don't need to understand! What I need is an explanation, a **good** explanation as to why you broke my heart because saying we were better off as 'just friends' isn't doing it for me!"

Lucas looked at her with sad blue eyes, an overwhelming feeling of guilt pooling in his stomach. He knew full well he couldn't tell Peyton the truth; that he had cheated on her for the last month and a half of their relationship with his best friend, that the night Nathan had first kissed him changed everything he knew about himself to be true.

He still felt awful about the whole thing; stringing along two people who were completely in love with him. He hadn't meant to; Nathan had caught him _completely _off guard with his confession the night of their first kiss. To hear that his best friend that he had known most of his life was in love with him was like a slap in the face, waking him up to some of the looks Nathan had given him for the past few months, how Haley and Brooke would make hints at Nathan liking a mutual friend of theirs (they didn't have that many), and Nathan's reaction when Lucas told him that he finally grew some balls and asked Peyton out. Lucas couldn't imagine the pain that Nathan must have felt, knowing that the love of his life was with someone else; if Nathan was dating someone else now, he would lose his mind.

"You're right, Peyton, that isn't a good explanation, but it's the only one I have for you. There are hundreds of things I could say to you to try and make this better, but there is no reason good enough for me to tell you why I strung you along. It was selfish of me and it was wrong. I wasted your time and gave you false hope and for that I'm so, so sorry Peyton. If you don't want to be friends still, I understand, I do. But I would really like it if we were," he said, smiling hesitantly. "You're the only one that understands brooding like I do."

Despite her previous anger at him, Peyton gave a small laugh, and she wiped away the few tears that fell. Lucas approached her and wrapped his arms around her slowly and she returned the hug, burying her face in his neck and breathing in his scent, her hands clutching his shirt tightly, pulling it down some. They stood there, swaying slightly, Peyton memorizing the scent of Lucas, the feel of him. After a few minutes, Lucas let her go, and re-adjusted his shirt. He offered to walk her to class, hearing the bell ring signaling the end of lunch, but she declined, saying she had to get ready for the pep rally. He nodded and gave her one last smile before walking off to get ready for the rally as well. She stood there for a few minutes with her arms wrapped around herself. She _knew_ there was more to their break-up than he let on, and she vowed to find out what the true reason was.

Especially since she saw the hickey right under his collar bone.

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><p>After the rally, Lucas, Nathan, Haley, and Brooke made their way to Karen's Café; Lucas and Haley needed to start their shift while Nathan and Brooke were trying to put off going home as long as they possibly could. Where Nathan's home life was unpleasant because of abuse, Brooke's was unpleasant because of simple neglect; her parents never seemed able to be able to spare five minutes for their only child.<p>

Karen Roe greeted the four teens with a smile before tossing Lucas and Haley their aprons and sending them on their way to do their tasks. Nathan and Brooke sat at the counter. Karen fixed them both a plate of the day's special before disappearing in the back.

Brooke and Nathan were discussing the pep rally and the upcoming game on Friday, Lucas and Haley occasionally popping over to give a comment or two, when the bell above the door chimed, signaling a customer. Nathan turned, and the comment he was about to make died in his throat as he stared at the figure of Deb Scott. Nathan couldn't recall the last time he had seen his mom out and about since she was drugged for most of the day, either by Dan's doing or her own.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Nathan asked, shock coloring the question.

"Honey, I need to talk to you for a moment—hey Brooke how are you, sweetie?" Deb gave Brooke a hug and a kiss on the cheek before grabbing Nathan's arm and leading him to an empty table of the café. She was wearing huge sunglasses and a scarf around her head, looking as if she was hiding from someone.

"Mom what's wrong? Not that I'm not happy to see you out of the house but you usually never go out," Nathan said.

"I know," she replied. "I never leave because of your father but I need to tell you something Nathan. We're leaving that house and we're going to stay with your uncle Keith. I called and asked him and he's agreed to let us stay with him for a while. I know I should've done this sooner, and I'm sorry I waited this long to do something, but we're getting out of it. We need to leave town and go where he can't find us."

Nathan stared at her, comprehending what she was telling him. They were finally getting free of Dan! He wouldn't have to suffer the abuse anymore, no more pain, no more suffering, no more—

"Wait. Uncle Keith in Charleston?" Nathan asked, his stomach already sinking as he realized what this meant.

"Yes. I know it's not ideal, starting over is going to be hard...but Nathan, we can have a better life than the one we have now," said Deb, placing her hand over his and squeezing gently. "I wanted to tell you know so you can tell your friends you won't be around for a while."

Nathan felt his head start spinning. He couldn't just up and leave Tree Hill! He had a life here; friends, basketball, his teammates—a boyfriend!

Nathan's heart sank into his feet. How was he going to tell Lucas he was leaving?

He swallowed heavily and asked the question whose answer he most feared, "When are we leaving?"

She looked at him with determined eyes, "Tonight."

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><p>Ahh I know, cliff-hangers suck! But if you guys review, I might update quicker;)<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait! Life has been getting in the way lately. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it :) Also, I believe someone asked about what happened to Lucas' dad, since I mentioned he died in an earlier chapter. Well that is apart of the story that will be explained in a few chapters so I can't tell you yet! But that subject will come up soon.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

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><p>Lucas knew something was wrong the moment Nathan went back to his seat after his mom left the café. He casually walked over to Nathan and Brooke and squeezed Nathan's shoulder, needing to touch him in some way. Nathan turned his head and glanced at the blonde; the look in his eyes speaking volumes of conflicting emotions.<p>

"Everything okay?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah…me and my mom, we're…we're going to Uncle Keith's for a while. I was just telling Brooke that I won't be able to play Friday after all…"

"Uncle Keith in Charleston?" Lucas asked, his stomach doing weird summersaults at the conflicting emotions rising in him.

"Yeah…she wants to go where Dan might not find us…" Nathan trailed off slowly, looking back at his half eaten plate of food.

Brooke met Lucas' gaze with a sad expression; Nathan was probably one of the best friends she had managed to keep despite their history. He had become something of a brother to her and she didn't want to lose him. Lucas was sure his own sadness was apparent in his expression, but for entirely different reasons.

"When are you going?" he asked lowly, bending slightly. He could sense Haley's concerned gaze on him as she picked up plates from a nearby table.

"Tonight," Nathan signed, resigned to this fact. He felt a slight prickling in his eyes as this sunk in. He was leaving his home, his friends, the love of his life, everything he had ever known, and he wasn't even getting a full day to really say goodbye. He knew he shouldn't complain; he was in a horrible domestic situation where he and his mother were in grave danger. Getting out was probably the best thing for him because at this point, who knew how much longer until Dan went too far?

Nathan felt Lucas' hand on his shoulder drop and he immediately missed the contact. If he only had a couple more hours in Tree Hill, then he wanted to spend them with his lover.

Brooke seemed to think the same thing as she suddenly got up and grabbed at Lucas' apron, "Take this off," she said steadily, her voice wavering slightly, sounding like she was holding back tears, "I'm taking over your shift. You two lovebirds need to get outta here and enjoy Nathan's…just give me your apron Lucas," she yanked on it and Lucas hastily complied, slipping it over his head and placing it over Brooke, tying it around her back. She turned to Nathan and, giving him a big squeeze, kissed him on the cheek. Then she turned to Lucas and threw her arms around him, which he eagerly returned, her hug bringing him a little solace. She kissed his cheek and let go, wiping away the tears that began to form and left without another word. He knew she would fill Haley in on the situation. Lucas, taking Brooke's advice, motioned for Nathan to follow him and the two ascended the stairs to the roof.

* * *

><p>The afternoon sun was brightly shining over the roof of Karen's café. Nathan could see the large figure of the moon making its way to be noticed; it appeared to be full tonight. He brought his gaze from the full orb to his blonde boyfriend, and followed him to the edge of the roof where the mini golf course from their childhood days still stood. Lucas stopped and observed the course; he, Nathan, Haley and eventually Brooke would play up here all the time while Lucas' mom was working. It was a perfect place for two boys and two girls to have multiple water-balloon fights, mini-golf tournaments, and slumber parties. Now it served as a hideaway from the rest of the world when life became too hard to handle. For Nathan, it was a place he came to escape from his father and his seemingly hopeless feelings for Lucas.<p>

Nathan came behind Lucas and snaked his arms around his waist, pressing his cheek to his temple. Lucas immediately wrapped his hands around Nathan's and the two just stood there, swaying in the gentle breeze of the mid-March weather, each lost in their own thoughts of what this move meant for them. After a while, Lucas turned around, and lost himself in the dark blue irises, forehead pressed to Nathan's own bringing a hand up to cup his face gently. Nathan leaned into the touch, cursing Dan with his whole heart at tearing him away from his love—he knew that he would _never_ find anyone like Lucas anywhere else. He didn't want to. He knew that Lucas was all he would ever want, and the thought of being without him made him feel sick.

Lucas leaned in and kissed Nathan deeply, desperately, and Nathan returned it with the same vigor, feeling the emotion behind the kiss; it comforted him knowing he wasn't the only one that was feeling this lost.

Lucas pulled back and breathed in deeply through his nose. "It's for the best Nate. You deserve a fresh start, somewhere far, far away from that asshole and Keith will be good to you and your mom. And I'll come visit you, so will the girls, so it's not goodbye forever."

"It just sucks." Nathan whispered the back of his throat beginning to burn. "I feel like I just got you all to myself, and now…now I have to give you up. I don't want to leave you Lucas, I love you…so much," he said emotionally, cursing himself for letting his eyes begin to burn, for not being stronger about this. Lucas was right, this wasn't goodbye forever.

"You'll never have to give me up Nate, ever. I'm yours, I always have been, even when I was too blind and too stubborn it," Lucas laughed, a tear leaving his bright blue eyes and rolling down his face. "I'll never find anyone else, baby…you're it. You're stuck with me Nathan Scott, and there's nothing you can do about that."

Nathan smiled and pressed his lips to the blonde's again, the desperation and the passion in the kiss increasing tenfold every passing minute. His hold on Lucas tightened as their tongue's met, Lucas' hands tightly gripping Nathan's black hoodie. Lucas moaned low in his throat, drawing Nathan even closer to him, needing to be as close to him as possible, and suddenly, it wasn't enough. He needed more, he needed—

"Lucas," Nathan breathed, breaking the connection, breathing heavily, "we can't, not here."

"Then let's go home, Nate, please, I can't…I need…" Lucas' mind was spinning, not able to convey his thoughts. All he knew was that Nathan was leaving him in a couple of hours and he was desperate to hang on to him just a little bit longer.

Nathan kissed his forehead tenderly, "Okay baby, let's go before they miss us.

**00000000000000000000000**

Brooke finished taking down yet another customer's order when she approached the counter, handing the order to Karen. She frowned when she saw her wearing Lucas' apron. "Where's Luke?" she asked.

Brooke faltered; she didn't think to make up a good excuse as to why she was covering Lucas' shift. She opened her mouth after a moment, but Haley, who was working the cash register at the moment, overheard, "They had an emergency practice; Coach Whitey wants them to be really ready for Friday's game."

Karen stared at Haley before nodding; she knew that wasn't the reason, but she would let the girls keep her son's secret. She would find out soon enough, she was sure.

When she went back into the kitchen, Haley turned to Brooke, "Tell me everything."

* * *

><p>As soon as they passed through the front door before Lucas was pushed against the wall; lips fused together, his arms wrapped around Nathan's back while Nathan had one arm around Lucas and the other braced against the wall. Lucas unzipped Nathan's hoodie and slid it off his shoulders, hands immediately going underneath the blue cotton T-shirt and feeling the hard muscles, their lips never separating. Nathan moved from Lucas' lips to his neck, gently kissing and nipping the soft skin, causing a moan to sound from the blonde, and Nathan's desire for him to reach new heights. He pushed off the wall and door and walked backwards, leading them through the house he spent more time at than his own to the bedroom that felt more like his than his own ever did. Nathan's back eventually hit Lucas' bedroom door, Lucas wasting no time shoving him against it, tongue still moving against Nathan's while fumbling with the doorknob he kept missing. Nathan laughed into Lucas' mouth before flipping Lucas against the door and finding the doorknob at the same time, twisting it and pushing it open. Once he got them in the room he closed the door, maneuvering them to the bed, avoiding the books, clothes and other various items, stopping when the backs of Lucas' knees hit the bed. He broke their kiss, laying Lucas down gently and slowly crawled on top of him, their lips meeting again in renewed passion.<p>

**0000000000000000000000**

Lucas never knew how he lived before knowing what Nathan felt like inside of him; the first time they had ever made love, he wondered how the hell he couldn't have realized that _this_ was what he needed to feel completely whole, that Nathan made him feel this fulfilled. Sex with Peyton couldn't even be compared to the bliss he was feeling now, arching his back and moaning out when Nathan slid out and slid back in, all the way to the hilt, pausing so Lucas could adjust to the intrusion. He kissed Lucas' forehead gently and dropped his head into the crook of Lucas' neck, peppering little kisses along the side. He was always so gentle with him that it made him want to cry.

Lucas could tell it was taking everything in his lover to not move; his jaw was clenched tightly, arms trembling, chest heaving, breaths coming out in short huffs.

He cupped Nathan's neck tenderly with one hand, and guided their kiss swollen lips together, sweat rolling down his temple, moving his hips up to signal to Nathan he was ready.

Nathan was quick to move, hips spurring into action, placing one large hand on Lucas' hip and hoisting his leg up to wrap around his waist, the other hand pressed down into the mattress beside his lover's head. He could feel Lucas' hands in his hair, scratching his back, and it encouraged him to go faster, harder, whatever his lover needed, his thick, dripping erection bouncing between them.

Nathan changed his angle suddenly, hitting Lucas' prostate and making the blonde cry out in surprise and pleasure, one hand gripping his soaking brunette hair, the other hand firmly gripping his shoulder, nails leaving half-moon marks, his own blonde hair damp and plastered to his forehead. Nathan smirked into Lucas' sweaty neck, aiming for the spot again and again, wanting to hear the cries that sounded like music to his ears. He firmly grabbed the blonde's sensitive manhood, pumping steadily as he continued to thrust into him.

"Nate…god Nate!—right there…so goo—fuck!" Nathan loved the words that came out of his mouth when they made love. They sent shivers up his spine, heightened his senses and made him more in tune to his lover's needs. He moved his hips faster, his breathing harsh as he felt the familiar heat pool in his stomach; he could tell Lucas was close too because of the way his breath hitched, his eyes fluttering as he tried to keep them open to gaze at Nathan's face, but unable to keep them open from the pleasure that rocked his body. His voice becoming breathy as he cried out Nathan's name over and over. He could feel himself being brought closer and closer to that euphoric oblivion, the thought that it was Nathan bringing him there making his heart beat faster, like it did every time.

"Nate—oh fuck right there—Nate I'm so…so close," he whimpered, his nails digging into Nathan's back and shoulders, throwing his head back as Nathan hit his prostate once, twice, three times more, hips moving frantically against Nathan's.

"I know…baby…me…too," Nathan grunted out, thrusting even faster now, his blue eyes closing, dark with lust as he thrust in twice more and twisted the hand on Lucas' manhood before his body arched so far back he looked almost bent in half, moaning out loudly as he tightly gripped on to Nathan, thick white fluid shooting onto his stomach and chest and Nathan's toned abs. Nathan, seeing Lucas in the throes of passion, thrust twice more before he released into his lover, smashing their lips together to stifle his cry, Lucas' hands still gripping him tightly.

He collapsed on Lucas, his head resting on the blonde's chest, body trembling as Lucas kissed the top of his head before leaning his head back against his moist pillow, his hands smoothing down Nathan's back and through his hair. Nathan turned his head and kissed Lucas' sweaty chest before laying back on it, panting heavily. The two lovers basked in the afterglow of their love-making, never letting go of each other.

* * *

><p>All good things must come to an end, as they quickly found out. After a warm shower together where many loving kisses and caresses were exchanged and Lucas pleased Nathan with his mouth, they dressed and before Nathan knew it he was standing by Lucas' side door, preparing to head home and, ultimately, to his uncle Keith's house.<p>

Nathan had his arms wrapped around Lucas tightly, his nose buried in his neck, trying to memorize the feel of this boy—his boy—trying to remember his smell before he had to leave him for however long. Lucas had his forehead pressed into Nathan's neck gently, breathing in slowly, his arms wrapped around Nathan's waist occasionally moving his head to press kisses to Nathan's face and neck.

This was one of the hardest things he ever had to do.

"This isn't goodbye forever, remember?" said Nathan after a few minutes of solemn silence. "Just for a little while, until its safe."

"God…this isn't fair! Why can't Dan just drop dead?" Lucas growled. If he had the chance, he didn't think he would hesitate to do away with the current mayor of Tree Hill. He'd caused enough heartache and pain in the lives of those around him.

Nathan brought his hands to cup his boyfriends face gently before leaning down slightly to kiss him tenderly. He pulled back and kissed both cheeks, then his nose, and then pressed his lips to his forehead. He lingered here for a while before pulling back, speaking in a low voice, "I know it's not...I hate him too, Luke. I hate that he's my father, that I have to uproot my life because of him, that I have to leave you, that I can't even hold your hand in public because I'm terrified that he will come after you if he finds out. But I hope now that we're getting out, my mom will press charges and he'll be locked up. Then I'll come back and I'll show everyone what an amazing boyfriend I've been hiding." Lucas chuckled at Nathan, but he secretly couldn't wait either; he wanted to tell everyone that he was absolutely enamored with _the _Nathan Scott and not give a damn about what anyone said. "I'll call you when I get there," said Nathan, his voice snapping Lucas out of his musings, and he nodded numbly. He knew he was probably being overdramatic; Charleston wasn't that far from Tree Hill, he could go see Nathan whenever he wanted when it was safe for him to do so. But the thought of not having the brunette by his side at all, after being with him as best friends since grade school, and becoming something more, he felt like a part of him was leaving.

Nathan was halfway to his car when Lucas snapped out of his numb state and threw the door open, calling Nathan's name. He rushed forward and crashed his lips to Nathan's in one last, passionate kiss, the force of Lucas' body barreling into him causing him to drop his bags in favor of holding the blonde. The weather had changed outside, rain pouring from the sky and onto the two boys who were not sheltered from the storm, the water flattening their hair and soaking their clothes, but neither boy paid any mind. Lucas whimpered, the kiss making his knees weak and Nathan tightened his grip on him, pulling him even closer, Lucas running his hands though his sopping brown hair. Nothing mattered at that moment, not the rain, not the fact that they were about to be separated; the only thing that mattered was each other.

When Nathan felt like he would pass out from lack of oxygen, he broke the kiss, but still left their foreheads touching. Lucas sucked in a shuddering breath and opened his eyes, gazing into the stormy eyes, "I love you, Nathan Scott. Always and forever."

"I love you too Luke, always and forever," Nathan breathed before quickly kissing him again before grabbing his bags and hopping in his beat-up car. He gave Lucas one last longing look before driving away, leaving Lucas staring after him in the rain.

* * *

><p>When he pulled up to his house, Nathan knew that something bad was going to happen. The dark grey clouds floated overhead, almost as a warning he knew he should heed, but instead, he quickly got out of the car and grabbed his bags. He entered through the garage and found where his mom had hidden the bags. He quickly grabbed them and threw them in the trunk. The only thing he had to get now was Dan's other set of car keys. His mom wanted to delay Dan as much as possible, so she wanted to take his keys to his car so as to give them more time to get away.<p>

Quietly, Nathan entered the house, the eerie silence deafening to him as his heart sharply pounded in his ears. He knew his mom told him they needed to wait until Dan was asleep in order for this to work, but he wasn't sure how long they could afford to wait should Dan decide to attack him tonight.

He was quietly climbing his stairs when he heard it, the distinct yells of both his parents, high-pitched and furious. The door to the master bedroom was thrown open as Deb quickly walked out, Dan hot on her heels, his face red with furry as he screamed, "Don't walk away from me bitch! You aren't going anywhere with **our** son!"

Deb whirled around, the anger evident on her face. "Like hell I'm not Dan! I'm taking our son and getting the hell away from you, you sadistic son of a bitch! I've sat by and watch you hurt him but not anymore and as soon as Nathan's safe, I'm going to the police to tell them all about your activities at home." She turned again and paused when she saw Nathan on the stairs, his eyes wide with trepidation as he watched the scene in front of him. How the hell had Dan found out?

Dan followed his wife's gaze down to his son, "Where the fuck have you been! So you were just going to up and leave your father? You didn't think that I wouldn't find you, you little shit? How did you think you were going to pay for anything when I'm the one who gives you money?"

Nathan stepped down one stair; this was not good. He wanted to avoid the probable outcome of this argument as long as possible. He took a breath and was prepared to speak when his mother beat him to it, "Don't talk to him Nathan, just get in the car. We're leaving. Now."

It all happened so fast that it made Nathan's head spin; Deb had just stepped down one stair when Dan ran and pushed her as hard as he could. Nathan only had time to look at his mother's surprised face before she went flying into him, causing him to lose his footing and go tumbling down the rest of the stairs. He landed hard on his left shoulder, his mother landing next to him face down with a dull thud against the tile. His ankle felt like it was on fire; he probably twisted it when he fell. He glanced at his mother and began panicking when a pool of blood slowly began to form around her head.

"Mom!"

* * *

><p>I know...I'm an evil bitch! Regardless of that, please review! I'd love to hear what you think :)<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

**A/N:**Thank you for all the reviews! And I would especially like to thank **LathanFan** for their incredibly long review that I loved :). I do want to point out though that Dan doesn't take out his "sexual frustrations" on Nathan every night, just like he doesn't hit him every single night. It's kind of a rare thing, and I'm sorry that I gave you that impression. If I have indicated that it was every night somewhere in the story please let me know so I can change it because that's not how I wanted that to come off. I know it's mentioned a couple of times that he does do this, I think one time in the first chapter and when Deb is suspecting that this kind of thing is happening, but its definitely not happening every single night. I'm not that mean or that creepy, I swear! :)

I also want to mention that Nathan's suffering will soon be coming to an end and good things will be happening for him! I never planned on making him suffer for so long but I needed to show the kind of situation he was in before I could change it :) and there will be lots more LucasNathan time...everyone's favorite! :)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for this plot and Mitch. I don't know if I mentioned this in an earlier chapter, but Mitch is Lucas' father who died, and the background story to that will be coming in the next chapter I believe. Enjoy! :)

* * *

><p>Nathan quickly scrambled to his knees, ignoring the searing pain in his ankle. He rolled the lifeless woman onto her back and quickly tore off his shirt to hold to her head to clot some of the blood, all the while muttering in shock, "Please don't die, don't die on me mom, please…please don't be dead."<p>

Dan stood at the top of the stairs seemingly frozen in place, arms coming to his sides limply, staring at the scene of his son trying to revive his wife. Suddenly Nathan let out a noise that sounded like a sob and a gasp and his head snapped to Dan. "Don't just stand there! Call 911!" he yelled at the stunned man, waking him out of his stupor. Nathan began looking for his cell phone with shaking hands and found it in his back pocket. He had just dialed the numbers in and was raising the phone to his ear when a sharp pain from a kick to his hand caused his phone to fly into the wall and hang up. He barely had time to register what happened before Dan was on him, delivering a punch to his face before shoving him to the ground, holding his face with one large hand.

"I don't think so Nathan," sneered Dan. "If we call the police, they're going to ask questions, and then they're going to get curious and investigate and I can't have that. I'm not letting my position as mayor, my respect, or my family be taken away from me because she has a little cut on her head!" Dan hissed, his other arm crushing Nathan's windpipe. Nathan could feel himself choke and gasp and he clawed at his face in order to get free. He kneed Dan between the legs and the man let out a pained yell, rolling over to the side off of his son. Nathan took in deep breaths, hands still shaking, and he rolled over onto his side, noticing his shirt that cushioned his mom's head was slowly becoming soaked with blood. His panic returned and he scrambled over the hardwood floor to his phone when he was stopped by Dan grabbing his hair and yanking back harshly. Nathan let out a pained yelp, his hands flying to the one on his head to try and alleviate the pain. "Dad please! She's going to die if we d—don't do something!" Nathan could feel himself becoming hysterical, sobs were building up in his chest as he struggled and fought with all his might against the stronger man. His arm reached out for his phone and he was yanked back again, landing hard on his hip. Dan stepped around him and picked up the phone, staring at it as though it were a foreign object.

For a moment, Nathan thought that Dan would throw his phone into the wall again and he would have to try and get to the house phone. But he surprised him when he dialed those three numbers again and spoke in a panicky voice, "Hello? Yes I—I need an ambulance…my wife just fell down the stairs and she's not breathing!"

* * *

><p>After standing in the rain for about ten minutes after Nathan left, Lucas went inside and, after he shut the door, slid down it, putting his head in his hands. That was the last time he would see Nathan and he had no idea when he'd be allowed to see him again. Whenever he was safe was what he said, but who knew how long that would be?<p>

He raked his hands through his wet hair and slammed a fist against the door in frustration. God…why did he wait so long to figure out that Nathan was the one? If he'd realized this sooner, they would've had more time to spend together. He knew that thought was irrational, but he couldn't help but blame himself of wanting to be in denial of what everyone already knew. He squeezed his wet hair and leaned back against the white door, getting lost in the memory of the day he confessed his feelings to Nathan.

**000000000000000000000**

_He hadn't seen Nathan at all at in classes or anywhere in the hallways, and it was already lunchtime. He hoped that Dan hadn't gone and severely hurt Nathan but he didn't know what to think after Nathan hadn't answered any of the six calls he made. When the bell signaled for lunch, he found Brooke and Haley by their lockers right next to each other._

_ "Have you guys seen Nate today?" Lucas asked trying to casual but ended up sounding worried, which Haley immediately picked up on._

_ "No…you don't think there's something…wrong do you?" she said, concern clear in her big, brown eyes, gazing at him in question._

_ "God I hope not," Lucas sighed, his mind spinning with possible scenarios of the extent of Dan's abuse towards his son. He leaned against the steel, blue lockers, touching his head against them. "He hasn't returned any of my calls or texts. It's not like him."_

_ "Well Luke, maybe he just doesn't want to talk to you," said Brooke curtly, her eyes never leaving her mirror as she put on mascara, "I mean, it must be pretty hard for him to see you with Peyton as your girlfriend and for him to only be what, your booty call?"_

_ "This again? Jesus Brooke it's not like I did this on purpose! He ambushed me with all this, how am I supposed to know what to do?" he snapped at her. He was getting really tired of her blaming him for this whole situation, even though he knew it really was his fault._

_ "So now this is Nathan's fault? You've got to be kidding me!" Brooke retorted, closing her locker forcefully and turning to Lucas with a sneer. "It's really simple Lucas; you choose one! Either you want to be with Peyton, or you want to be with Nathan, but you can't keep doing this to both of them! Nathan is supposed to be your best friend and you're stringing him along like he's some lost puppy! And I thought Peyton was the girl you were soooo in love with but you've been lying to her face every day for the past month! You definitely deserve the boyfriend of the year award!"_

_ "You guys can we please not fight about this right now?" Haley asked anxiously, tugging on her multicolored knit scarf wrapped around her neck. She hated it when Brooke and Lucas fought, and they had been doing it more and more lately, ever since Lucas and Nathan started messing around behind Peyton's back. _

_ "It's not that simple! No matter what I do someone is going to get hurt! You don't think I feel guilty about all this?" Lucas bit back, completely ignoring Haley's timid request. "You're a hypocrite lecturing me, considering you've strung people along before, but you don't see me giving you shit about that do you?"_

_ "They weren't my best friends or my boyfriend were they Luke? And I didn't string them along! I let them know that I was seeing other people! You haven't even given Peyton the heads up that you're also into guys!"_

_ "I'm __**not**__ into guys! It's just Nathan!"_

_ "And here we go with the denial! You keep messing around with him so you must like guys just a little bit Lucas! How could you do this to Peyton? How could you do it to Nathan after everything he's—"_

_ "Stop it!" Haley said sharply, fixing them with an even stare. "Just stop you guys. Fighting about this isn't going to solve anything. Lucas, go by Nathan's house and see if he's alright," Haley said, her tone final. Lucas sighed and with one last harsh look at Brooke he left without another word. _

_ When he arrived at the Scott residence he spotted Nathan's grey, slightly battered sedan in the cobble stone drive way. The Scott house had always amazed him; the size of the house was impressive in of itself, with the elaborate, wooden door with the intricate designs and windows that were the perfect size. He knew that Dan wouldn't be home because he was busy running the city from his office, so he rang the doorbell. _

_ "Nate!" he called, knocking on the wood, "Nate its Luke, open up!" No answer. "Nathan? Are you okay?" Still no answer. He pounded on the door with his palm. "Nathan!" Maybe he really didn't want to talk to him. _

_ Lucas twisted the door handle, and to his surprise and worry, the door opened. He let himself into the house quietly and closed it behind him, locking it. He looked around the open hallway for any sign of trouble; nothing seemed out of place. The white tiles were spotless, the pictures hung neatly from the walls, telling the story of the Scott family through their forced smiles. Lucas briefly wondered how many pictures Dan made his family participate in in order to keep up their appearance as the perfect family. _

_ He walked quietly through the living room, the big, plasma television resting on the wall in between two maple wood cabinets that housed Nathan's trophies from every sport he participated in. There were a few trophies from other sports like baseball or football, but most of the certificates, ribbons, and plaques belong to basketball. There was also a shelf dedicated to Dan Scott and his former glory days on the basketball court. In front of the television was a comfortable-looking brown, leather couch with two brown stands on either side that each held an iron lamp. Two brown leather chairs were placed on the other sides of the stands, a stained towel resting on the one closest to him. On closer inspection, Lucas realized that it was stained with blood and his heart pounded. _

_ "Nathan? Are you here?" Lucas asked again, now walking into the clean kitchen and seeing nothing out of place, he cut over to the extravagant staircase, climbing it carefully so as not to startle anyone who might be there. He started down the hallway, more pictures hanging from the walls, staring at him as he crept quietly towards his best friend's room. The door was open, so he went inside but no one was there. _

_ Lucas frowned, his worry beginning to increase. Where the hell was Nathan?_

_ Then he heard it; a sound between a sob and a sigh of pain and the click of a bottle being placed on the counter. _

_ He quickly made his way to the bathroom door and knocked, "Nathan, you okay?" He waited a few seconds; no answer. __He closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for what he might see, and opened the door._

_ Nathan was standing in front of his mirror, hair still damp from his shower. He was dressed in jeans and a dark blue button-down shirt that was currently opened, revealing large bruises on his chest and ribs, one particularly nasty black and purple one on his stomach. There was an open tub of cream sitting on the counter which was halfway full because of frequent use. Nathan had some of the white substance from the tub on his fingers, carefully rubbing it in on the large, discolored patch of skin. _

_ Lucas felt his heart shatter at the sight and as he thought about his and Brooke's latest argument, he felt like a complete ass. Here was Nathan, his best friend since they were in elementary school, the friend that was there for him when his father died, when he and his mom were struggling with the café and money issues, the best friend that he played basketball with, struggling trying to hold his life together as his father beat him, his mother too drugged up to be supportive, and he, Nathan's so-called best friend, was using him to figure out if he was going through a sexual orientation crisis. Nathan loved him, really __**loved**__ him, and Lucas could barely look at him when they were at school because he was afraid that people would look at them and __**know**__ what they were doing; they would know he was cheating on his super-hot, cheerleader girlfriend with the star basketball player of Tree Hill High. That he was spending his days with Peyton pretending their relationship was all hearts and roses and his nights in Nathan's arms, sharing kisses that were too passionate and touches that were too loving to be considered an experiment. _

_And through it all, Nathan never complained; never once did he ask Lucas to choose between him and Peyton, and he never asked for anything more than what Lucas wanted, though he heard endlessly from Brooke he was breaking his heart. In that moment he knew that he couldn't hurt Nathan like this anymore. He was too important to him; he always had been._

_Nathan turned his head when he heard the door open and set his eyes on Lucas, his eyes bright with pain, fear, and self-loathing. It gripped at Lucas' heart and made his stomach churn; how could he let this happen? This was his best friend! the one that would always stay up late with him talking about their dreams, their fears, what they would do when they got out of Tree Hill, the best friend that knew every detail about him, his life, the best friend that…he fell in love with._

_The realization was clearer to him more than ever now, and instead of completely freaking out he was...thrilled, excited even. He loved Nathan, more than he had realized. He cherished him more than he had ever cherished Peyton. He knew what he wanted and it was the brunette in front of him and he wanted to spend a lifetime showing Nathan the love he deserved. _

_With this new realization, Lucas moved until he was standing in front of Nathan, noticing the height difference up close. Without a word he drew Nathan into his arms, one hand going to his back, the other burying itself in the dark head of hair. The other boy's arms immediately came around his waist, seeking warmth and comfort that Lucas was now more than ready to give, now that he realized that __**this**__ was what he wanted, what he needed. He pulled back slightly, Nathan's hands resting comfortably on his lower back, hands tracing a bruise around Nathan's collarbone and around the upper part of his chest, ghosting down his shoulders before going back to his neck. He raised them to frame the pale face, his thumb smoothing over high cheekbones, the skin pale and smooth before raising his head and gently pressing his lips to Nathan's. He felt Nathan sigh lightly against his lips, hands coming to rest on his narrow hips. _

_ Lucas broke the kiss, their lips mere millimeters away from each other, and gently gripped the nape of Nathan's neck, the words he wanted—needed—to say not being able to remain quiet for much longer. He glanced up into Nathan's blue, blue eyes through his long, blonde lashes and whispered them without a trace of hesitation. _

_ "I love you."_

**0000000000000000000000000**

Lucas smiled slightly at the memory; the smile that lit the brunette's face when the words left his mouth was one that Lucas would always remember. He had kissed Lucas so passionately that he had nearly fallen over while Lucas had slipped his shirt off his shoulders, one thing led to another and before he knew it they were making love on Nathan's bed for the first time. He had been nervous at first, considering he was about to be with another male, but Nathan had been so gentle and careful and made sure that Lucas felt pleasure beyond his wildest dreams.

With a heavy sigh he stood and peeled his wet t-shirt off of him and had just put a dry one on when he heard someone come in through the front door and his mom's voice call out, "Lucas honey, you here?"

"Yeah," Lucas called back, walking out to the living room, ruffling his already messy hair.

"So…you want to tell me why Brooke finished out your shift tonight? Haley told me Whitey called for an emergency practice, but since some of your teammates came in the café I figured that wasn't it."

Lucas sighed; he'd completely forgotten all about the café and his shift. His top priority was Nathan leaving him. "I'm sorry mom something…came up."

"What's gotten into you lately? You've been so…different Luke," she sat on the couch and patted the seat next to her, "Is everything okay honey? Are those boys from the basketball team harassing you again?"

"No everything's fine…mom listen, there's something I need to tell you and I don't want you to freak out okay?" Lucas winced in his mind. Maybe he shouldn't have started it out like that.

Karen didn't know whether she should be amused or concerned so she let out a laugh, "Lucas honey you're kind of scaring me. Whatever it is, it can't be that bad, right?"

'You might think so,' he thought to himself as he braced himself for the confession he was about to deliver. He had wanted to tell her since he broke up with Peyton because he wanted everyone he considered important in his life to know who he was involved with, but he kept it under wraps for Nathan's sake. Now with Nathan leaving, he figured it couldn't hurt to explain everything to her.

He opened his mouth to speak when his cell phone rang, and he recognized the ringtone playing as Nathan's. Lucas shot up like he'd been burned and ran in his room, grabbing the black device off his nightstand.

"Hello?" he answered.

"…Luke?" Nathan sounded awful, like he had been sick or…crying?

Fear gripped at Lucas. "Yeah—baby what's wrong? What happened?" Lucas asked, a feeling of dread building in his stomach. Whenever Nathan spoke in this tone he knew that something horrible had occurred.

"I'm…I'm a—at the hos—hospital...m—my mom…she's in sur—surgery…can…can you…" Nathan couldn't even finish, and all Lucas heard were soft sobs over the phone.

"Yeah baby, hang tight I'm on my way," Lucas said already pulling on his grey hoodie and slipping into tennis at the same time, heart hammering in his chest. If Nathan lost his mom…he shuddered to think how that would affect him.

He ran out into the living room, dialing Haley's number as he searched for his keys.

"Lucas what's going on?" His mom asked. Lucas started, but then continued his frantic search, the confession he was about to spill being pushed to the back of his mind.

"It's Nathan he—his mom's in surgery. I need to—yeah Haley?" he answered, breath coming out in pants out of anxiousness, "It's Nathan, his mom's in surgery…yeah…okay I'll be there in five," he slid the phone shut and finally found the keys.

Karen stood quickly; her son in his frantic state was in no condition to drive. "Lucas let me drive; you'll get in an accident like this."

Lucas nodded, not even bothering to argue with her, tossed her the keys and ran out the front door, Karen hot on his heels.

* * *

><p>Nathan stared at his still-shaking hands then dropped his head into them heavily, his mind spinning from the events of the past few hours. Not three hours ago were he and his mom about to make a brand new start with his uncle Keith, away from Dan and now he was in the hospital with his mom fighting for her life all because Dan didn't want to lose his punching bags. He felt his hands clench, his hatred for his father increasing every passing second his mother was in surgery. He glanced over next to him and his blood boiled at the sight of Dan sitting and reading a magazine so casually as if he were waiting for his wife to get out of an appointment rather than surgery. He itched to wrap his hands around the infuriating man's throat; it was his fault they were even here and he didn't even care!<p>

As if sensing his son's heated gaze, Dan looked up from the money magazine he was reading and gave Nathan a cold stare. Nathan glared back, the anger he felt, the pure fury and hatred he felt at this man, who had an obligation, a _duty_ to love and protect him no matter what, and he wound up being the cause of his pain and misery as well as his mother's. What had they done to deserve this? What the hell gave his dad the fucking right to treat him and his mother so horribly? Nathan could barely breathe; these raw emotions intense, his anger consuming him, pressing down on his heart, the fury coursing through his veins urging him to destroy Dan as he has nearly destroyed him. He stood up, a look a pure determination crossing his features. He was in a hospital; there were plenty of people he could tell and he could end their suffering, right here, right now. He didn't think about if people would believe him or not, he had the proof all over his body if they wanted it.

Dan looked up at his son, "What are you doing Nathan?" he asked in a hard voice.

"I'm going to tell them _exactly _how she fell down the stairs Dan," Nathan spat harshly. "I want them to know that it wasn't an accident and the man who put her in surgery is in their waiting room."

"You do that, and you will regret it every day for the rest of your life Nathan Scott," hissed Dan, now standing as well. "Don't do something you can't take back."

"The only thing I regret is not telling someone about you sooner!" Nathan spat, his arms fists clenching again, wanting nothing more than to beat the man. "I should have told someone when I was 14-years-old but I was so scared that you would hurt me and mom even more. But now…now I have nothing to lose. If she dies, it's on your hands, and I will do _everything_ in my power to bring you down."

Dan stood and grabbed Nathan's arm tightly and Nathan winced, but his face never lost its angry, defiant look. "Listen to me you little shit, I've done everything for you! I've put food on the table for you, I've given you the best that money can buy, and I've made sure that you had a future! And I sure as hell can take that all away. Don't you think for one minute that you can escape me, because I _own _you. So go ahead, tell someone about all the _awful_ things I've done, we'll see if they believe you. But when nothing happens, and you have to return home because your pathetic mother is a drug addict who can't even take care of herself, you will be sorry."

Nathan felt chills run down his spine and he tried to pry his arm free from Dan's tight grip, wanting to get as far away from the man as possible, but Dan gripped even tighter and pulled Nathan closer to him, hissing in his ear, "Who do you think they'll believe Nathan? Some spoiled rich kid with everything he could ever want, or the mayor of the city? I have everyone eating out of the palm of my hand; no one is going to help you."

"Nathan!"

He mentally sighed with relief as Dan let go and turned in the direction he heard his name. Lucas, Haley and Mrs. Roe were all running down the hallway towards him and Dan. Haley barreled into Nathan, wrapping her arms around his back in a tight hug, making Nathan wince as she pressed into a healing bruise on his stomach, but hugging her just as tightly. Lucas reached them and wrapped his arms around the two other teens, absorbing in their warmth. Karen stopped in back of them and smiled slightly, her expression changing as she turned her gaze to the man whose eyes were also on the three teens. She casually walked to him and regarded him with a cool gaze. "Dan," she said indifferently.

"Hello Karen," Dan nodded at her, his eyes not-so-subtly checking her out. Karen shuddered; Dan was still as creepy as ever. She wondered what the hell she saw in him that made her want to waste a year on him in high school. She coughed lightly and held her purse on her shoulder, "How is she? Has there been any word?"

"She's in surgery right now, they said she lost…a lot of blood in the ambulance," said Dan softly, his voice taking on the tone of a man who was terrified to lose his wife. Karen stared; she never heard Dan sound so upset.

"She'll pull through this…Deb is a very strong woman. She'll be okay," replied Karen, placing an arm on Dan's, squeezing gently. He smiled slightly at her and she returned it.

"I hope so Karen…I hope so."

**00000000000000000000000000**

Deb's doctor eventually came out to the five people waiting anxiously in the waiting room. He delivered the news that she made it through the surgery and they were able to close the wound, but due to the extensive blood loss and the damage she sustained from the impact of the blow to her head, she had yet to wake up and they weren't sure when—or if—she would. Nathan had clutched Haley's and Lucas' hands so tightly he cut off circulation, but neither one seemed to mind, breath hitching when they told them that she might not wake up. Immediately after the doctor allowed for visitors, Dan jumped up, claiming he was needed back at the town hall building. Karen had offered to stay while Haley went to call Brooke and Nathan and Lucas went in to see Deb. She was flipping idly through a magazine when footsteps quietly approached and stop a good distance in front of her. "Well, well Karen Roe; aren't you lookin' good."

Karen glanced up, and her heart immediately began hammering in her chest. In front of her was a man in his mid-thirties, wearing fitted blue jeans, sneakers, a black and grey striped button-down shirt and a brown jacket. His face had a 5 o'clock shadow and his brown hair was mused every which way, but she still recognized him. He looked no different than when she saw him the day of Mitch's funeral all those years ago. She put the magazine down and walked into his arms, "It's so good to see you Keith."

* * *

><p>Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review! :)<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Moonlight

**Author: **Cleo Clipper

**Genres:** Drama, Angst, Romance

**Warnings: **Slash, violence, abuse, hints at sexual abuse, language, adult themes. If you don't like to read about Lucas and Nathan being romantically involved (as brothers or not) or if abuse/sexual abuse is a touchy subject for you, then don't read this story. You have been warned!****

****A/N:**** I'm so, so sorry for the long wait! Honestly I wouldn't blame you readers for completely giving up on this story but I haven't! I've just been extremely busy and I needed to fix some things in this story before I continued on. But I have planned out the next six or seven chapters so those should be up faster.

I went back to my previous chapters and I fixed a lot of mistakes I made that didn't make sense to me. The storyline is still the same there were just some things with time periods and other minor details that didn't match up so I went through and revised everything. Hopefully it makes the story more understandable now!

As a thank you to you guys for waiting so long, I made this chapter especially long for you :) Enjoy and please review and tell me what you think of it and what direction you think this story is going. I love when people give me their opinions on what's going to happen next :)

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own them!

* * *

><p>Keith hugged Karen tightly, memories of their high school years flashing through his mind. He, Mitch, and Karen were all very close friends since they were on the basketball team and Karen was a cheerleader. The three of them were always spotted together and always having a blast, either alone or with the posse they accumulated over the years of going to school with the same people. Karen's beauty, carefree attitude and kindness she showed to everyone captivated more than half the male population at Tree Hill, including Mitch, Keith, and Keith's younger brother, Dan Scott.<p>

Out of everyone that Karen could have ended up with, it was Dan Scott, Keith's cocky, irritating younger brother that got to take her out on dates and shower her with expensive presents. She was absolutely infatuated with him, much to Keith's and Mitch's displeasure when making fun of Dan suddenly became offensive. Keith found their relationship annoying; Dan only wanted Karen because he wanted to say that he was dating one of the hottest girls at Tree Hill High and for whatever reason, Karen couldn't see through that. But Mitch…Mitch was torn about the relationship and Keith realized that his feelings for Karen ran deeper than he thought. And after repeatedly catching Dan out holding hands and kissing on other girls that weren't his girlfriend, they decided to interfere.

After several weeks of Dan's secret relationships, Keith and Mitch dragged Karen with them to hang out, something they hadn't done since she started seeing Dan. While they were having a good time at the bar outside of town—courtesy of fake ids—Dan showed up with a pretty redhead on his arm. Mitch signaled to Keith and Karen and when she discovered them together she'd been so upset that they left right away.

Keith supposed he should have felt smug at destroying his womanizing brother's relationship; he didn't deserve Karen after all but after the stony silence in the car ride back to Tree Hill he was starting to wonder if he'd made a mistake. When they'd dropped Karen off back at her house she left without another word. Mitch and Keith sat for a second wondering if they should do something before Mitch finally spoke, "I'm gonna check on her…make sure she's alright."

Keith should have known; of _course_ Mitch wanted to be Karen's night and shining armor, he'd been in love with the girl since he met her, and who was he to interfere? His own feelings for Karen couldn't even compare; maybe that was why he didn't stop him.

Things had progressed quickly from there; Karen had broken up with a furious Dan the next day in front of half the student body and after cutting off all contact from him, she quickly became herself again. A month after the break-up, she and Mitch became the new power couple at Tree Hill high. Keith was happy for them and he forced his feelings for Karen aside; he wouldn't reign on his best friend's parade. He genuinely thought Mitch and Karen deserved each other and he couldn't be happier for his best friends.

Then Karen had become pregnant after a rather crazy graduation party and Mitch couldn't have been more excited at the thought of being a father. Sure he had wanted to go to college, they all did, but when Karen told him the news he immediately went out and found a job in order to support his growing family. A month later he had proposed to a very surprised Karen and the wedding was to be at the end of summer before all their friends moved away for school.

Their ceremony was beautiful; it was held on the beach at the Scott's beach house. Keith had asked for permission from his parents who had readily agreed, considering Mitch to be a third son to them. Mitch had looked so giddy and love-struck and was telling all kinds of jokes to try and ease his nerves and when he saw Karen walking down that isle, the look that crossed his face was one that Keith would always remember. It was the look of a man in love, a man who had everything he could ever want right there. He remembered looking out into the crowd and seeing the happy faces of his family and friends that came to share this day with them. He spotted Dan in the crowd and the look of pure anger and misery on his face made Keith's smile slip. When Dan wore that face, he was deeply upset about something, and usually plotting revenge. And Keith wouldn't have been surprised if Dan was plotting ways to destroy Mitch for taking away the girl he wanted so badly. Shaking his head, Keith continued to watch the ceremony from his position as best man. The reception afterwards was absolutely amazing and Keith thought he'd never seen a couple more in love.

Months later, Mitch and Karen welcomed a new child into their family: their son, Lucas. When Keith first laid eyes on the baby with wispy blonde hair and bright blue eyes, he thought he looked exactly like Mitch with Karen's compassionate eyes. Lucas had smiled at him and gurgled happily and Keith had a feeling this child would grow up and be something special someday. A few years after Lucas' birth, Dan had returned from college with a wife and a baby boy of his own, which had shocked Keith but he was happy for him nonetheless. When he had met Deb, he had wondered how the hell Dan managed to marry such a sweet woman when he was probably the biggest asshole he knew but decided not to question their relationship and welcomed her and their son, Nathan, into the family.

The years rolled by and Keith, Mitch and Karen never lost that good friendship they had in high-school; they made Keith Lucas' godfather and made him as much a part of their son's life as they were. Lucas grew up a rather happy child surrounded by the three adults who loved him the most and Haley, his best friend he met his very first time at school.

Then Karen had called him hysterically one night to tell him that Mitch was in a car accident.

It was like the world was dropped from under him. He rushed to the hospital in a daze, barely aware of the streets he was driving and he didn't remember parking before sprinting full speed into the hospital. Most of his friends were already there along with Mitch's parents, Haley and her parents, Lucas and Karen. She was grasping onto her son tightly, his tiny form shaking in her arms as he cried out for his father, Haley sitting next to them holding his hand dutifully, ignoring her falling tears. Keith had immediately rushed over to them and hugged his family tightly, praying to anyone listening to let Mitch survive and not tear this family apart.

His prayers went unanswered.

**0000000000000000000000000000**

"I've missed you so much," Karen said pulling back to look him over, "Why haven't you been to visit us?"

"After Mitch passed I just…couldn't come back here. It hurt too much to be here and be reminded of him," he said quietly. "I'm sorry I just took off that one day and I only stopped by to say goodbye. You deserved better than that."

"Keith…I'm just glad your back," Karen sighed and hugged him tightly again and he held her just as tightly. After a few moments they pulled back and Keith addressed the issue at hand, "How is she?"

"Doctors say she's gone into a coma. I guess the way she hit her head when she landed from the fall did serious damage."

Keith clenched his jaw, "Karen, this whole falling down the stairs story…it's not right."

She looked at him with concern and sat back down in the chair. "What do you mean? You don't think she fell?"

"I don't think…I don't think it was an accident."

Karen was silent, taking this in. Not an accident? That could only mean…

"You think…you think _Dan_ did this?" she asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

"I think he may have had something to do with it," he said slowly sinking into the chair next to her. "Karen something isn't right in that house; yesterday Deb called and asked me if she and Nathan could stay with me for a while until she knew her next move. I asked her what was wrong but she didn't want to talk about it over the phone, she said she'd tell me everything when they got there but they never showed up. She…she sounded terrified, kept saying she just needed to get Nathan out of this situation," he paused. "Is Nathan here?"

"He and Lucas are in with Deb right now. C'mon," she said standing up, her mind reeling over these new revelations. Was it possible that Dan was capable of that kind of violence? Karen new he could lose his temper and he could be a bit rough at times, but from what Keith was saying, it sounded like he was abusing Nathan and Deb. How long could this have been happening and she hadn't even suspected? She knew Nathan had a tough time with his father and that was why he spent a lot of nights at her house, but it couldn't be that severe…could it?

Karen and Keith rounded the corner and walked a few feet before Karen suddenly stopped walking causing Keith to nearly run into her. "Karen?" he asked.

She didn't say anything and as he came to stand beside her, he was rendered speechless himself. Because they could see, through the window of Deb's room, the two boys they were looking for kissing where anyone could see them.

* * *

><p>Lucas stared at Deb's still form intently as if she would wake up through his sheer force of will. He wanted to do something other than sit and stare at the woman, anything to make her better so she could get back to Nathan because he knew how much the dark-haired boy needed his mother. Nathan's hand was starting to get sweaty in his from holding it for so long but he didn't care and he brought their entwined hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to Nathan's. He felt Nathan squeeze his hand to know he appreciated the gesture.<p>

"What if she doesn't wake up Luke?" Nathan's soft voice rang in the room after a few more minutes of silence. "What if she never wakes up and I have to live with Dan…alone?"

"You _won't_ live with Dan, you'll live with me and when we graduate we'll live in California. I'm _not_ letting you go back to that house Nathan," said Lucas with finality and a bit of desperation. He was sick of always seeing Nathan fret over what would happen when he went home and not being able to stop what was inevitable; Nathan barely slept at his own house anymore, usually just going home when he was really needed and sneaking back out to Lucas' later where he knew he was safe. He'd become so used to sharing a bed with his boyfriend he hated it when Nathan had to sleep in his own.

"I have to go back Luke, my stuff is there. And he'll find me…you know that won't be good," said Nathan quietly, shivering at the thought of what awaited him when he finally went home now that his mother wouldn't be there.

"Nathan he pushed your mom down the stairs! What's to stop him from _killing_ you the minute you walk through that door?" exclaimed Lucas. He brought his unoccupied hand to Nathan's face and forced the brunette to look at him. "You're _not_ going back, and if Dan wants to come looking for you let him! But he's going to have to go through me to get to you because I'm _never_ letting him touch you again," he said fiercely, his thumb rubbing his cheek gently. "I love you too much to let you keep getting hurt."

"God Lucas," Nathan breathed and gently captured the blonde's lips with his own, his own hand coming up and cupping his face, their intertwined hands grasping tighter than before, completely forgetting that they could be seen outside.

After a few moments of silent staring Keith finally snapped out of his shocked state and turned to Karen, who hadn't moved since seeing the public display of affection, grabbing her hand gently and leading her away from the scene, "Let's give them privacy."

"Lucas…Lucas and…and Nathan are…" she couldn't even formulate the words, her mind working in overdrive with all the new information she learned within the last ten minutes. Keith led her to the cafeteria and grabbed them two coffees and a bagel before sitting down at the hard, plastic tables.

"So…how long has _that_ been going on?" said Keith jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

Karen grabbed her coffee and sighed, "I honestly had _no_ idea they even…_felt_ that way about each other! Nathan's been spending the night a lot and I had no idea they were even…" she trailed off in a groan and took a large swallow. "I'm a terrible mother; I've practically invited my child to have sex with his boyfriend!"

Keith laughed at Karen's dismayed tone, "You didn't know Karen and this was probably the reason they decided to keep it from you. I wonder how long they've been keeping this up?

"If I find out this has been going on for more than a year, I will officially be the worst mother ever," bemoaned Karen biting into her half of the bagel. "That's when Nathan started staying over nearly every night. He would go home and come back…and they really thought I wouldn't notice! I never said anything though; I never saw the harm in him staying, they are…were…best friends…oh my god," she ended in a whine and bit her bagel.

"Are you okay…with this Karen?" asked Keith softly, "I know it must be a shock that Lucas is…well, likes another boy."

"I…I guess I always suspected that there was _something_ between them," she admitted, "but I just thought that Nathan was being a good friend after Luke lost his father and Nathan started staying over each day…" she trailed off, looking thoughtful and she frowned. "He started staying around the time Deb stopped coming by for coffee…actually, now that I really think about it, that was the last time I really saw her; anytime I would run in to her on occasion and ask her where she'd been she'd say she'd been swamped with work, but she never mentioned that she even got another job after she quit marketing. I didn't think anything of it but now…is that a sign Keith?"

"It could be," he mused, thoughts focused on where his violent brother was now. He needed to confront him and try and find clues because he _knew_ that Dan was doing something horrible to Nathan; that was why he came back to Tree Hill. "I'm going to figure this out," he said determinedly, "if something is happening then we need to get Nathan out as quickly as possible. Otherwise…he could end up worse than Deb."

"He can stay with me…he practically lives with us already," Karen said. "He's like another son to me…poor Nathan! How could I have not _seen_ that something was wrong?"

"Hey, it's not your fault Karen," he said softly, covering her hand with his. She felt her hand tingle where his hand was placed but she focused on his words. "Nathan has probably hid this from everyone except for Lucas. This isn't your fault and now that we suspect something is wrong, we're going to do something about it. Don't beat yourself up over this, okay? You're already taking care of one child and running a café by yourself, you can't be responsible for everyone."

She sighed and turned her palm over to link their hands together, squeezing gently. "You're right," she sighed, "at least we're going to do something now." She stood. "We need to talk to Nathan."

* * *

><p>That very night, Brooke and Peyton had been lazing around in Brooke's giant pink bed attempting to do homework but getting distracted with gossip and talking instead, or in Peyton's case, drawing. She had just finished her drawing of a boy that greatly resembled Lucas holding a large heart split in two. She sighed and pushed the paper aside; she really needed to get over him. No amount of drawing was going to make him change his mind. Especially since he was seeing someone else. She decided to start snooping and if there was anyone who knew everything about <em>anyone<em>, it was Brooke. She turned to her, "Hey, Brooke?"

"Hmm?" she asked never taking her eyes off her phone.

"You…you would know if he was seeing someone right?"

"Who P? Gotta be a lil more specific."

The blonde sighed, "Lucas."

Brooke's eyes went a bit wide but thankfully Peyton couldn't see. She halted her next words to Felix—or was it Matt she was texting? She couldn't even remember—and turned to Peyton, "I don't think he is...you think he's seeing someone?"

"Well," she started, "I talked to him today and when I hugged him…he had a hickey Brooke. Do you think he left me for someone…else? I know you guys are still friends and you guys talk a lot so I thought maybe he would tell you…"

"I haven't really seen him with anyone lately," Brooke lied, instantly feeling guilty, "maybe it was just a one-time thing, you know? Basketball boys hit and quit all the time."

"I don't know…I mean I guess that could be it but...I just wish I knew what he was thinking! There is something going on and I want to know what it is!" she exclaimed. "He's been acting really weird lately; the only people I really see him with are the basketball team, especially Nathan and when I pass him or say hi it seems like he's…forcing himself to acknowledge me! And Nathan always gives me this look like he wants to kill me or something…I don't get it! I've never done anything to him…I barely talk to him!"

"You know how boys are P; they always look out for each other and Nathan is probably just looking out for Lucas because he knows you guys broke up and that he was hurt by it."

Peyton deflated and dropped her head into the carpet, letting out a huff of frustration. "I guess," she sighed. Then she lifted her head, "I _know_ there is more to our break-up then he lets on, and I'm going to find out _exactly_ why he broke up with me. There's someone else, I _know_ there's someone else he's seeing, and I'm gonna find out who." She looked at Brooke expectantly and the brunette girl sighed; of course Peyton would expect her to be on board with snooping into Lucas' life to find this bitch who 'stole' him away.

"I'll try Peyton, but don't you think you should just…move on? Lucas isn't the only good looking basketball star out there."

Peyton huffed again and Brooke stood and came around her bed, lying next to Peyton, "You are smart, you're funny, you're absolute gorgeous, and you're a hell of an artist. If Lucas can't appreciate all of that then you don't need to be with him! There are plenty of boys at school who would _kill_ for just one date with you; don't waste your time on Lucas P, I hate seeing you like this."

Peyton gave her a small smile and leaned her head in to touch Brooke's. This was why they were best friends; Brooke was always there to listen to her pointless bitching about her ex and even help her find out who he was seeing while encouraging her to move on. She didn't know what she would do without her best friend.

"I'm trying B, you know it's just hard for me," she sighed, "so you'll help me? This is your area of expertise."

"You know I will, what are best friends for?" she said with a smile and a sinking stomach. She hated lying to Peyton but it was better than Peyton knowing the truth.

"He's gonna be sorry," she said quietly, bringing out another sheet of paper to start another drawing, "and whoever Lucas is seeing…she better watch out. I'm gonna make her life _hell_."

Brooke smiled at her to hide her worry; when Peyton wanted revenge on someone, it wasn't a pretty thing. Peyton went to the extreme when it came to seeking revenge, something Brooke usually participated in because they usually deserved it but this time was different. If she found out that Lucas was dating Nathan, she really had no idea how the curly-haired girl would take it, but she knew it wouldn't be good at all. And the last thing Nathan needed in his life right now was Peyton plotting to bring him down.

No, Peyton couldn't know the truth about Lucas and Nathan _ever_ and as she pinky-promised her, she promised to do everything in her power to keep their secret safe.

She was interrupted in her thoughts by her phone ringing and she jumped up immediately recognizing Haley's ringtone. She answered, "What's up Hales?"

"Brooke you need to get to the hospital now, it's an emergency."

"Haley what's wrong?" Brooke immediately picked up on her serious, urgent tone in and knew right away something wasn't right.

"It's Nathan; his mom's in a coma."

* * *

><p>As soon as Dan made it through the front door, his rage overtook him and he began throwing anything he could get his hands on. Vases shattered, glass was flying everywhere and cutting his skin; he didn't care.<p>

Why the _fuck_ did he push her down the stairs? Why couldn't he control himself? Now they were going to see her body, see the bruises, the bruises he caused. But he couldn't help it! He was furious that she had called his good-for-nothing brother and told him god-knows-what and that she had even _dared_ to take Nathan away from him. He was his son, she had no right! So he had to stop her.

He calmed down enough to sit on the stairs and drop his head heavily. This was not good; the doctors were going to ask questions and he wouldn't doubt Deb or Nathan to get bold and tell them the truth. Then the police were going to investigate and he was going to lose everything he had worked so hard to gain, including his son_._ Dan clenched his jaw in anger; that _punk_ was more than willing to run away with his mother to Uncle Keith. After everything he did for the brat, he didn't even appreciate him. He was the reason that he would go to Duke! Because of his efforts, he was going to the NBA! Why couldn't Nathan see that Dan was doing everything for his own benefit? He let Nathan get away with a lot of things, like spending his nights at that scum Lucas Roe's house and drinking with his friends at the beach house and breaking up with Brooke to date that unworthy Haley girl but sometimes Nathan expected too much from him and that's why he had to keep him in check the way he did. No one was going to make a fool of Dan Scott and he wouldn't tolerate his son not obeying his every command. He had to ensure that Nathan get into a good school so he could play pro like he never could.

He just needed to get him away from that Lucas kid.

He was just like his father honestly. Dan absolutely _hated_ Mitch Roe with a passion. After he and Keith exposed him that night at the bar and made him lose Karen, it was all he could do to not kill the man with his bare hands. He vowed revenge against Mitch and Keith and knew that one day they would pay. Now his son was trying to take control of his own son and he would be damned if Mitch's look-a-lie played him for a fool.

Dan was brought out of his angry thoughts by the ringing of the house phone and he stood to answer it. "Hello?" he said gruffly.

"Hello Danny."

Dan gritted his teeth, "Keith, what do you want?"

"Oh you know just at the hospital visiting your wife, where you should be," Keith said nonchalantly but Dan caught his underlying tone and it made his blood boil. Keith always knew how to piss him off. "You do know your son has been with her all morning so I have to wonder where her husband has been."

"I have…work to do," Dan snapped, his work involving cleaning his house of all evidence of anything that might implicate him.

"Well while you're _working_, you might want to clean the guest bedroom for me. I'll be staying for a while."

"What? There's no need for you to do that Keith; we'll be fine," Dan said quickly, his hand clenching in irritation. Keith could _not_ live with them, he had no doubt that Nathan would do something stupid, like tell him how his mother really fell down, and that wouldn't end well.

"Well Nathan seemed to think it was a great idea…and I do miss my nephew. It'll take some pressure off your shoulders yeah?"

Dan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration before answering, "Fine, I'll see you when you get here." He slammed the phone on the counter while pushing the end button before he got an answer and gripped the counter, letting out a loud snarl.

* * *

><p>Nathan slumped in the chair he had been sitting in for over three hours as Brooke rubbed his back soothingly. When she had shown up to the sight of her three friends surrounding one unmoving blonde woman on the bed her heart clenched at the thought of Nathan losing the one parent he actually loved. Lucas and Haley went to get food from the cafeteria and had asked Nathan to join them since he hadn't eaten since the café earlier but he declined, not wanting to leave his mom's side for a minute, Brooke opting to stay for support.<p>

"She'll be okay Nathan," she said gently to the distraught brunette, "she's gonna wake up soon and it'll all be fine."

"You're such an optimist," Nathan mumbled, "I wish I was more like you."

"Well hun, when you've got parents like mine you can only hope for a happier future," she smiled at him, "you just gotta have faith."

"It's hard…and with the way my luck is she won't wake up at all and I'll be stuck with Dan 'til I graduate…if I live that long."

"Nathan you can't _seriously_ be thinking of going back home! If you need somewhere to stay you can stay with me…though I'm sure Luke's bed already has a spot for you and Peyton is practically living with me since her dad left a week ago."

"I'm sure that would be fun—me and Peyton living in the same house," he muttered, smiling lightly at her and she laughed.

"It would be fun for me; Peyton has made it her mission to find out who Lucas is seeing. Apparently she saw your hickey on his neck and now she's plotting some big revenge scheme. I would love to see the look on her face if she found out it was you."

Nathan shook his head; Peyton was so petty. But she couldn't find out about him and Lucas…that wouldn't be good for either of them. "You didn't…I mean I know you didn't say anything but…"

"I told her I would help her; I just need to figure out who to pin it on. It doesn't help that he only hangs out with me and Haley and everyone thinks you two are an item.

"You could tell her it's you, I bet she'd love that," Nathan teased and Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Please…Peyton would strangle me if I ever even _considered_ dating Lucas."

Nathan laughed, "It surprises me that you two are still friends, as many fights as you guys have had over boys, including him."

"Yeah we have our differences and sometimes she pisses me off but…I've been there for each other since we were ten and her mom died. She's always going to be my bestie, just like you guys."

There was a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Karen and Keith. Keith smiled at Nathan's surprised look before he smiled warmly.

"Uncle Keith, I missed you," he said hugging the laughing man.

"I missed you to Nate; sorry it's taken me so long to come back," he let go of the taller boy, frowning slightly at the black and purple bruise starting to form on Nathan's face before turning to Deb. He took in all the wires and tubes attached to the pale, frail woman, her shallow breathing, the large white gauze wrapped around her head and hair falling messily around it on the crisp, white pillow. He gently squeezed her hand before turning back to Nathan, "Nate let's talk outside for a moment."

"Alright," Nathan said; he had a feeling he knew what Keith wanted to talk about and his stomach burned with anticipation as he walked out into the hallway.

**00000000000000000000000000000**

They walked to an empty hallway with a couple chairs stationed against the white walls. Nathan sat by his uncle and waited anxiously for what the man would say.

"Nathan, I know the night that your mother fell both of you were supposed to come to Charleston. She called me that morning and she said...that you needed to get out of the situation you're in. She sounded…absolutely terrified. Is Dan…is he hurting you, Nate?"

Nathan kept his eyes on his hands the whole time while biting the inside of his cheek. This was the moment he and his friends had been waiting for; for someone to question his home life. Waiting for someone to call out Dan and question his actions but now that the opportunity was staring him in the face…he was scared that he would make his already precarious situation worse.

"I…it's not…" he stuttered out. He couldn't even form the words to tell him. Keith gazed at him sympathetically; he knew Nathan had to be scared because of what happened to his mother but he needed Nathan to confirm his suspicions before he took action.

"Nathan, if you tell me how your mother fell down the stairs, I promise I will do everything I can to help both of you. I know you're scared but you can't keep living this way. I need you to tell me what is going on so I can help you."

Silence reigned for a few moments, then…

"He pushed her," Nathan whispered so lowly that Keith barely caught it. "He…he was mad that she was taking me away and he pushed her down the stairs and she hit her head. It wasn't an accident…and neither were these." He lifted his blue t-shirt and Keith gasped at what he saw: old and fresh-looking bruises littered the boy's torso and he was willing to bet they stretched to his chest and his back.

"Jesus," he whispered in horror, "The one on your face?"

"He punched me. I was trying to call the police for mom."

"How…how long has this been going on?"

"Since I was fourteen. It didn't happen so much then but this past year has been the worst," Nathan kept his voice low as if Dan would pop out any minute. Keith's heart broke at the sight and it made him loathe asking this next question but he needed to know everything that was happening if he was going to help his nephew.

"Nathan," he began slowly, "has he done anything…else?"

He flinched at the question and that gave Keith his answer.

"Sometimes…when he's really…hitting me and my mom is…isn't around…he will…I mean it doesn't hap—happen too much but…" he stopped and pressed his trembling lips together, his eyes glossy with tears.

"Does this happen every night?" Keith asked quickly.

"No…Mom would te—tell me to leave and stay at someone else's house most nights so I stayed with…with the Roe's."

"Does Lucas know?"

"Yeah; him, Haley and Brooke are the only ones. I…they wanted to tell someone but I didn't want to make things worse than they were…" a tear slipped down his cheek.

"Hey it's alright Nathan," Keith grasped his shoulder lightly, "this is a tricky situation you're in. You couldn't have known what to do."

"I should have told someone before he pushed her down the stairs and now…now she's…" he stopped and took a deep, shuddering breath, "if she dies it'll be my fault."

"No, it'll be Dan's fault; you're just as much a victim as your mother, Nathan, and just because you didn't tell anyone who could help doesn't mean you are at fault," Keith said firmly. "Dan has manipulated you so he could control you and threatening you into not telling anyone is usually what abusers do. This is not your fault in any way; you did nothing to deserve what Dan does to you no more than your mother deserved to be pushed down the stairs."

He drew the trembling boy into a hug, heart clenching painfully when he felt him bury his head into his neck and warm tears fall onto his neck.

"It's gonna be alright Nathan," Keith whispered, "I'm here now and I'm gonna help you."

**0000000000000000000000**

When they got back to Deb's room, Lucas and Haley had returned. Lucas immediately stood and hugged his godfather hard. He had missed the man while he had been away; he was the closest to his father he had and it pained him when he left to Charleston.

"You'll be staying a while right Keith?" Lucas asked, really hoping he'd say yes.

"Yeah. I've missed this place and you little guys, though you're not so little anymore," joked Keith and Lucas smiled.

Just then a nurse popped her head in, "I'm sorry but visiting hours are over now. They start at 7 a.m. tomorrow if you would like to come back then."

Everyone nodded in understanding and they made their way outside. The moon was shining brightly on the empty street, the trees swaying in the wind and Lucas shivered when it hit him. Out of habit Nathan wrapped an arm around him and drew him closer to his body for warmth, pressing a kiss to his head. When Keith turned to acknowledge him, he immediately let go of the blonde but he had a feeling Keith saw.

"Nathan I was thinking…since spring break is coming up maybe you and your friends would want to go to the beach house for a while."

"Alone?" Nathan asked in a hopeful tone. He had completely forgotten all about the break coming up and the longer he wouldn't have to be around Dan the better.

"Yeah, you guys are seniors now; we should be able to trust you right?" Karen asked with a smile; she caught on to what Keith was doing and decided to go along with it.

"Of course! We're definitely responsible," replied Brooke eagerly. "A week at the beach sound amazing!"

"That sounds great but…I can't just leave my mom here like this," Nathan said sadly and Lucas grabbed his hand lacing their fingers together, forgetting the adults could see.

"Nathan I think getting out of town for a while would do you some good. And don't worry about your mom, we'll let you know if anything changes," Karen said taking note of their linked hands and smiling gently. How could she not have realized that they made each other so happy?

"Well it's settled then. I'll get you the keys and you and your friends can go up there. Bring whoever you want and if you feel the need to have a party, don't let it get _too_ crazy," Keith said winking at Lucas and Nathan and they laughed.

"Of course not! We don't have _those _kinds of parties, we're good kids!" Lucas exclaimed surprised putting a hand over his heart. Karen laughed at her son's antics and ruffled his hair giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"How are you going to convince Da—my dad?" Nathan asked his uncle nervously; he knew his father wouldn't agree to let his son go alone to the beach house, especially with his friends.

"Don't worry about that Nate," Keith said patting him lightly on the back, "I've got it taken care of."

* * *

><p>It was decided that Lucas and Nathan would head up alone for the first two days and Broke and Haley would come for the rest of break. Brooke needed to somehow ditch Peyton for those few days and Haley offered to help Karen at the café to give Lucas and Nathan some alone time other than at night.<p>

The Scott's beach house was beautiful; it was two stories but not too large and painted a calming sea-green color. The patio that faced the ocean was decked with sandy white wood and comfortable wood furniture complete with wind chimes swaying in the breeze. The warm sun shined down brightly on the beach as they lay on the plush couch, blocked by the roof of the house but not from the comfortable heat.

"I told him...I told Keith about Dan and the beatings," Nathan said stretched out behind Lucas on the couch rubbing his stomach softly. Lucas looked behind him with eyebrows raised in surprise, "Really? Is he going to the police?"

"He said he would take care of it. I'm assuming that's why he sent me out here for break, so he could confront my father," the brunette sighed and kissed the tan shoulder; after just one day in the sun Lucas had already gotten darker, looking as if he lived in California and spent his days surfing rather than North Carolina. Nathan had also gotten tan but not as much as his boyfriend. "I think he and your mom know about us too."

"Well that saves me the trouble of actually telling my mom, though she's probably upset that you spent the night so much and she had no idea we were a 'we,'" Lucas chuckled and Nathan grinned. "I'm sure she'll have a full lecture prepared for me."

"As long as I'm not banned from your house," Nathan said jokingly but deep down he worried he'd truly upset his mom.

"Nah, she'll get over it. She loves you anyways." He turned to face the younger boy, "If Keith goes to the police are you going to give a statement?"

"The police work for my father, they won't believe me. He's already said they wouldn't…that no one will," he said quietly.

"Bullshit! He's just trying to scare you babe; if you tell them how everything has been going in the past year and you show them your bruises and your mom's they'll _have_ to believe you! It shouldn't matter if Dan is the mayor; that shouldn't mean he can get away with what he's done," he placed a hand on the brunette's cheek, rubbing the slight stubble coming in. "Keith will fight to make sure you're safe but if the police know then Dan can be taken down for good."

Nathan kissed his palm and rubbed his nose against the blonde's, "Let's wait and see what Keith does. Right now though there are…other things we should worry about," he smiled and kissed his blonde-haired lover, rolling on top of him and settling between his legs, grinding their growing erections together.

"You wanna do this here? People could…see us," Lucas said as Nathan sucked on his neck, his hands reaching down into lose sweats and grasping the warm flesh. He bucked up and moaned in Nathan's ear grabbing his back.

"Let them watch, I don't care. Besides, isn't it more fun knowing we could get caught?" Nathan tugged firmly and grinned when Lucas' breath hitched. The blonde let out a laugh which ended in a moan as Nathan slipped his sweats down easily and continued to stroke him while sucking on his neck. Lucas hummed contentedly; Dan could have shown up at that moment and he would have cared less.

**000000000000000000000000000**

"I'm going to love you forever Lucas Roe," Nathan whispered against his dirty blonde hair. Lucas sighed happily and kept staring out to the dark open sea illuminated by the full moon, the breeze caressing their bodies and he snuggled into Nathan further.

"I love you too Nate. When I say always and forever, I mean it," Lucas murmured pressing a kiss to Nathan's hand. He couldn't put into words how he felt at the moment, at the amount of love that he held for Nathan, that he would do _anything_ to keep him safe, to keep him happy; he would give Nathan the world if he could. "You're the only one my heart belongs to."

"…and Peyton," teased Nathan with a smile, laughing when Lucas swatted his hand for his remark.

"What the hell was I thinking?" Lucas joked, "Thanks for bringing me to my senses!" Then he got serious, "It's not even the same…what I felt for her and what I feel for you…it can't even compare. I was…infatuated with her, wondered why she wouldn't go for someone like me. I felt like I had to be with her just to prove to her that I was good enough…but if I were in love with her, I would have felt worse than I did when she constantly told me no. And one day it just…it just hit me that even though I wasted so much time pursuing her…that she wasn't the one I was going to end with because something was _missing…_and it took being with her to realize that I needed you to make me feel complete," Lucas finished his heartfelt statement cupping Nathan's cheek tenderly, smoothing over the latest fading bruise.

Nathan was stunned; he knew that Lucas felt strongly about him, but he _never_ would have imagined that he felt nearly the same amount he did. He always figured that he loved Lucas more than Lucas loved him. He kissed Lucas' fingers one by one and slowly reached his mouth to the blondes, the kiss sweet and tender. They broke apart, smiling widely at each other before turning back to the ocean and watching the waves, Lucas leaning against Nathan's toned chest, a blanket wrapped around both of them.

The silence that surrounded the two was one of contentment, the kind that two people who knew each other so well could have without any awkwardness. Both boys were deep in thought; with everything that had happened in the last week, neither one of them really had much time to just sit and think about the present problems and what the future could bring. Nathan, for once, wasn't scared of his own home; with Uncle Keith there he was sure that the beatings would be less frequent now and if he was lucky, they would stop all-together. He found out that Karen and Keith did know about his and Lucas' relationship because they had seen them kissing, something that was embarrassing but he was grateful to them for their acceptance. Seeing them in the middle of a make-out session was not how Lucas wanted to come out to his mother but he knew that if Lucas was happy, then she was happy and that was all that mattered, though he wished he could have seen the looks on their faces. When his mother called and told him how she knew Lucas became as red as a tomato before stuttering out that he was going to tell her soon but Karen had laughed good-naturedly, getting over her initial shock of seeing them in the first place and told him it was alright. Nathan only hoped that his own mother was just as accepting.

His mind then strayed again towards the future, of which now he was uncertain. He wanted to believe that he, Lucas, Haley, and Brooke would stay together through college, that they would all move to California, Haley would go to Stanford, he and Lucas would go somewhere near there and play basketball, and Brooke would start her clothing line she always wanted to do. Though the girls seemed on board with this plan, he knew the chances of them all ending up together were slim; Haley was a smart girl and could go anywhere she wanted, and even though Stanford had always been her dream, she could still change her mind. Brooke was talented and motivated, and could just as easily end up in New York as she could in California. He also knew that he and Lucas could end up at different schools, different ones recruited for basketball, and while it wasn't rare, there was a chance they both wouldn't be recruited to the same school. Nathan knew that he would give it up if needed in order to follow Lucas to where he went. Basketball was his dream, had been his dream since he was younger, but so was Lucas, the boy he had loved for most of his life, and if he had to choose between the two, he knew which dream he would rather keep.

Lucas stood and stretched, bringing Nathan out of his reverie, yawing as he did so. Nathan stood too, staring at him; he was absolutely gorgeous, with his tousled dirty blond hair, bright blue eyes, sleepy smile, and dressed so adorably in Nathan's sweats that were slightly too big on him that Nathan never wanted anyone else to see the pretty picture his boyfriend made. Lucas had started to walk back to the beach house, blanket in hand, when Nathan grabbed his hand gently and twirled him around, snaking his arms around his waist and pecking him once on the lips. He bumped his nose against his and looked into the baby blue eyes and couldn't stop the words that spilled from his lips.

"Marry me."

* * *

><p>Don't you just love the cliffys? Please review! Thank you for reading!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry about the long wait! I've been busy job hunting and a bunch of other things haha but here is chapter 9! Thank you for all the lovely reviews and I'm glad you guys are still reading the story! Means alot!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own :(**

* * *

><p>"What?" Lucas laughed quietly meeting the serious dark blue gaze of his boyfriend.<p>

"Marry me Lucas," Nathan said again, pulling back slightly to take in his expression, "I want to be with you forever."

"Nathan!" Lucas laughed again completely shocked they were even having this conversation. "Nathan we can't get married…it's against the law!"

"Then we'll go to New York or California right after graduation," Nathan said cupping his face. "I know this is sudden…but with everything that's happened to me…I just want to hang on to the one thing that's been stable in my life, that's been keeping me going," he said passionately.

Lucas pulled back a bit and stared at him smile leaving his face, "You're serious about this?" he said with disbelief, "What if you change your mind and you decide that you don't want to be with me or what if we get married and then we wind up hating each other or what if we go to college and you meet someone else that you want to—"

Nathan silenced his nervous ranting with a heartfelt kiss that conveyed everything he felt at that moment. Lucas whimpered and fisted Nathan's shirt tightly. Nathan broke the kiss breathing in deeply and resting his forehead back against his boyfriend's.

"Believe me when I say that I will never want anyone else," Nathan said clutching Lucas' upper arms desperately. "I have _always _wanted you; even back when we were younger I wanted to know you, to be near you. I remember the first day of fourth grade when I first saw you holding your mom's hand with these bright blue eyes…I knew that I had to be your friend. And then when my father hit me for the first time when I was 14 and I ran to your house and you held me all night, telling me that you would never let something like that happen to me if you could prevent it, I knew then that I was in love with you. Luke, _you_ are the one that keeps me going when I don't think I can anymore, _you_ have always been there when everything becomes too much, _you_ are the one that knows me better than I know myself. I don't want anyone else because no one will even compare to you. Not even close," Nathan said softly, needing Lucas to understand him. He needed him to understand he was the reason he didn't completely shut down after everything his father did to him.

Lucas stared in to Nathan's eyes and saw he was being completely serious. "You—you really wanna marry me?" he asked shyly.

Nathan chuckled at his tone, "Of course I do babe. Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me is the question."

In response the blonde smashed their lips together heatedly, tongue immediately finding Nathan's and he pressed himself so close to him Nathan nearly lost his balance and fell into the sand. Lucas pulled back and pecked his nose, both cheeks and his lips again.

"Yes," he murmured gently, the smile evident in his voice, "yes, I'll marry you."

* * *

><p>Keith and Dan sat stiffly at the dining room table in an attempt at having a family dinner. Dan was still upset that Keith gave Nathan and his friends full permission to <em>his<em> beach house without even talking to him about it and the last thing Dan wanted was Nathan to spend even more time with that Lucas boy than necessary. He scowled at his plate of chicken and mashed potatoes, cursing his brother once more for appearing in Tree Hill.

"Something wrong Danny?" Keith asked without a hint of worry. Dan's eyes snapped to his brother's, the scowl never leaving his face.

"Why are you really here Keith? Is it money? I knew that job at the garage wasn't going anywhere," Dan sneered at him disdainfully. Keith chuckled humorlessly and set down his silverware.

"I came because I got a very interesting phone call from your wife…the same night she fell down the stairs, actually."

Dan felt his heart rate increase slightly and he gripped his fork tighter; how much had Deb told him?

"Oh? Why did she call?" he asked coolly.

"It was weird…she said she needed to get Nathan out of a violent situation…at home."

The darker haired man closed his eyes to reign in his anger; so the bitch had told him. He should have known she wouldn't keep her mouth shut. He glanced back up and met Keith's unwavering gaze.

"And what situation would that be, big brother?"

"You tell me Dan; what's going on with my nephew?" he placed his elbows on the table leaning forward. "She thinks he's in danger here and the only other person that lives here is you."

Dan gritted his teeth; he would not rise to the bait. He knew what Keith was trying to do and he wouldn't play this game.

"I have no idea what she's talking about. Nathan is perfectly fine," he lied with a strained smile. "He's working on his game for the scouts, they come at the end of the month and Duke will be there. He's got excellent grades. He's fine."

Keith eyed him silently for a moment; he didn't expect Dan to just tell him outright what he did to his wife and son and he was prepared to poke and prod as much as he needed to get the answers he wanted.

"Interesting," he mused quietly. "So how do you explain the bruises all over his body then?"

"Basketball is a physical sport Keith, you should know. They constantly get thrown around in the game," Dan said without missing a beat. "He'll heal in no time."

"So you've seen the bruises?"

"Yes; they don't look too bad."

"These looked more severe than bruises from a game. It looked like someone beat the hell out of him. More than once," he said pointedly with narrowed eyes.

"Hmm…a fight then? You know how boys his age are," the younger shrugged with feigned cluelessness. "Always trying to prove who's the better man."

"Is that how you prove you're better man than Nathan? By beating the crap out of him and forcing him to get you off?"

There was a tense silence after Keith's blunt question, the tension so thick one could cut it with a butcher's knife.

"What the hell are you implying Keith?" Dan hissed dangerously after a few moments. "I have _never_ touched my son."

"It's funny," said the elder with barely controlled fury, "that Nathan has bruises and scars for days yet, from what I've been told, he hasn't been in a single fight. That he practically lives with the Roe's six out of seven days of the week; that the only people Nathan doesn't flinch around are his friends, his mother or Karen, but nearly every male he comes into close proximity with, he's immediately set on edge. I saw all of this when I was with him at the hospital visiting your wife who _conveniently_ fell down the stairs when she and Nathan were leavin—"

Dan slammed his hands down on the table and he stood so fast he knocked the chair over. "NATHAN IS MINE! SHE HAD NO RIGHT TO TAKE HIM AWAY!" he screeched furiously, spittle flying from his mouth. "SHE WASN'T LEAVING WITH MY SON! HE'S **MY SON!**"

Keith's heart was pounding furiously but he raised his eyebrows calmly as Dan finally lost his cool. Dan snarled viciously at him before stalking upstairs, feeling Keith's eyes on him until he was out of sight.

* * *

><p>Lucas breathed out of his nose harshly as Nathan sat up and smashed their lips together, sweat glistening on their bodies and damp hair clinging to their foreheads. Lucas' hands clutched at Nathan's broad shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position as the two kissed passionately, his cock twitching deliciously inside Lucas making the blonde moan. He raised himself up and came down slowly, teasing the brunette. Nathan growled against his swollen lips and he let out a breathy laugh.<p>

"Stop…teasing," he said huskily, the roughness of his voice making Lucas' cock jump in excitement.

"Or what?" Lucas asked breathlessly raising himself teasingly again and going down so slowly Nathan's eyes rolled into the back of his head. Lucas laughed again as Nathan gripped his hips tighter; there were going to be bruises tomorrow. He pressed himself closer to Nathan's chest, rolling his hips down against the other boy's and he moaned.

"Fuck, Luke," he gasped out, one particular push making him bite his lip hard. "You're fuckin' killing me babe."

Lucas grinned, sweat dripping into his eyes as he returned to sliding up and down Nathan's thick cock. His hands pushed Nathan back onto the bed by his shoulders and moved them on either side of his head, riding him in earnest. He bit his lip as he felt the familiar warmth pooling in his stomach indicating his release and by the way Nathan was thrusting up frantically, he could tell the younger boy was close too. The heat in the room was stifling as the two moved together, gasping and grabbing and moaning against one another as they neared euphoria.

Nathan gave one, two quick thrusts before his body stilled as he came, biting down on Lucas' shoulder hard to keep from screaming out loud in pleasure. Feeling Nathan cum inside him and the slight pain on his shoulder caused Lucas to bury his head in his neck and cry out before he pulsed and exploded onto their stomachs and chests. He lowered himself on trembling arms until his chest was pressed against Nathan's sweaty one before pressing his forehead into the same pillow Nathan's head rested on, gulping in breaths as the brunette's hands trailed lazily up and down his slick back.

Both boys were trembling with the aftershocks of their orgasms as the air turned to a cooler temperature but neither could bring themselves to move. Lucas' warm breath in Nathan's ear was sending pleasant shivers down his spine and before he knew it he felt himself getting hard again. Lucas drove him absolutely insane; his body would never crave this boy enough.

When he regained his strength he flipped them over and Lucas laughed at his eagerness. "Round two already?" he asked as he wrapped his long legs around Nathan's waist.

"If you're up for it," he said huskily, pressing his growing erection deeper into Lucas and he moaned. "But if I've already worn you out…"

Lucas chuckled deeply, "I don't think so." He lifted his hips bringing him deeper into his body and Nathan hissed in pleasure. "Practice for the honeymoon," he said with a smirk.

Nathan laughed, heart leaping at the thought of their honeymoon, of them actually being married and he bent down and kissed Lucas with such fiery passion that his erection nearly came back full force. They broke apart and Lucas' smirk had turned into a smile and he cupped Nathan's jaw, soothing the fading bruise with his thumb.

"I can't wait to marry you," he whispered with emotion. "You're all I've ever wanted."

Nathan's heart soared at hearing those words and he kissed him so tenderly that it made his heart stop. "Let's get married tomorrow," he whispered against his lips.

Lucas laughed and rolled his hips up, causing both boys to moan. "My mom would kill me if she wasn't invited."

Nathan grimaced, "Don't talk about your mom when I'm inside you. It's creepy."

The blonde laughed again, heels digging into Nathan's back and pushing him even closer, "After graduation babe. We can wait."

"Fine, only because I would do anything for you," Nathan said as he pulled out and thrust in slowly, making Lucas arch his back in pleasure; he whined when Nathan pulled out and did it again, just as slowly. "Payback's a bitch, isn't it?" the dark-haired boy said with a smug smirk.

"Asshole," Lucas panted, crying out when Nathan thrust in sharply and picked up the pace, the smirk never leaving his face as he brought Lucas over the edge repeatedly all night long.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"When should we tell everyone?" Lucas asked the next afternoon, lying on a large, green beach towel looking at the crashing waves. They had spent the whole night and a good part of this morning making love in celebration of their engagement but had actually yet to inform anyone of their nuptial plans. Lucas couldn't imagine how his mom would react but he knew that she had accepted his relationship with Nathan and he hoped she supported their decision. Nathan's mom, he knew, would support her son in anything, his godfather Keith seemed fine with them and the girls would probably squeal. He grinned imagining their reactions: Haley would be jumping up and down with joy while Brooke would start designing their tuxedos and her bridesmaid dress. He frowned slightly; how would that work if he wanted Brook and Haley in the wedding? It felt weird to have bridesmaids when he wasn't a bride, but he wanted Haley, Brooke and his mom to be a part of it somehow. And his team, should they accept their relationship.

Which brought up another issue they had yet to address: when were they going to let people know they were together? People had to suspect something; Nathan hadn't had a steady girlfriend since Brooke sophomore year, he hadn't so much as looked at another girl since Peyton and they spent all their free time together. He wasn't sure how the guys would react to two of their teammates being in a relationship, let alone getting married, but he felt that they should let people know soon so they could get used to it before they dropped the wedding bomb on them.

"I don't know…maybe when we get back?" said Nathan casually. Inside, he was beyond excited to share the news of their engagement with everyone.

"Maybe we should surprise everyone at prom, go together and all that," Lucas said turning his head from the waves. "I guess since you asked me to marry you the least I could do is ask you to prom."

Nathan smirked, "I was going to ask you anyways, it's the man's job after all." He laughed when Lucas hit him. "Kidding babe, you're definitely manly enough for me."

"Good and while we're on this subject, I'm letting you know that I'm _not_ wearing a wedding dress."

"Aww Luke, Brooke's going to be heart-broken," Nathan pouted in jest, "she already told me when I decided to ask you that she had the perfect dress in mind. Plus I think you'd look hot."

"When you decided? How long have you wanted to ask me?" Lucas asked, all joking paused for a moment. Nathan blushed and looked down.

"A while," he said softly. Lucas' eyes never left him, waiting for more of an explanation and he conceded. "A little over a year ago."

Lucas raised both of his fine eyebrows, "A year? We weren't even together then."

"I know and it was just wishful thinking on my part, I didn't actually think…" he trailed off, staring at the waves. "I was with Brooke one day and she asked me if I would ever tell you my feelings and I said if I ever had the courage to just tell you and you felt the same way that I would just ask because it couldn't hurt and I guess the idea just always stuck with me after that." He stopped rambling and pressed his lips together, eyes never leaving the waves that were steadily growing bigger and bigger.

Lucas smiled and once again silently thanked fate for bringing Nathan to him. He reached out and took Nathan's hand, entwining their fingers together. Nathan didn't look away from the waves but Lucas could see a small smile appear on his face.

"I'm glad you thought about it," the blonde softly said after a moment of silence. "I'm glad you got the courage to tell me."

He brought Nathan's hand to his lips and kissed the back, turning back to watch the waves, never letting go.

* * *

><p>"When do you think she'll wake up?" Karen asked in a hushed voice; she and Keith were in Deb's room, where they had been every day since her accident. She still couldn't believe that Dan was possibly behind all of this but a part of her thought it made sense. She knew, firsthand, how out of control Dan's temper could be.<p>

Keith sighed and shook his head, "I don't know, she hit her head pretty hard. I just hope she can remember everything so she can tell us what happened."

"I can't believe no one said anything, not Lucas not Haley, not even Brooke and that girl has a big mouth," Karen said. Keith chuckled and rubbed her back soothingly.

"They're kids Karen; they protect each other when they need to, even if they should have told someone. At least Nathan has a support system and now he has me and you and Deb; he's going to be fine."

"I hope so," she whispered. "Did you get anything out of Dan?"

"Oh yeah, he _definitely_ pushed her down the stairs. I questioned him about it a couple of nights ago and he completely lost it Karen. I don't think I've ever seen him lose control like that," he shuddered as he thought about the argument he had with his brother. The two hadn't spoken since then, what with Dan being gone before he woke up and coming home after he went to sleep. Keith knew he would have to confront Dan again; all he needed was the right timing. "All we need if for Deb to wake up and tell us what happened."

Karen sighed heavily again, "What about when Nathan comes back? He can't live there Keith, especially now that Dan knows you think something is wrong."

"I've contacted the police; when Nathan gets back they want him to make a statement," he said. He held her hand and laced their fingers together. "I was hoping he could stay with you until everything blows over."

"Why not? He's already been staying with me for the past year," she laughed and he smiled, glad she was becoming more comfortable with her son's relationship. "I wonder how Deb is going to take it. I wonder if she even knows."

"Knows what?" a soft voice asked. Keith and Karen's heads whipped around to the bed where Deb eyed them sleepily.

"Deb," Karen breathed as they both rushed over to her, "how do you feel?"

"Sore…a little hazy," she admitted, "but I don't have memory loss or anything major like that so I guess that's a blessing."

"It is," Keith said as he kissed her forehead. "We've all been so worried about you, especially Nathan."

Her eyes widened at mention of her son, "Oh god, is he with Dan? Oh my god I need to get—"

"He's at the beach house with Lucas; Brooke, Haley and some of their friends will be up tomorrow. He's safe Deb, don't worry," Keith soothed. Karen held her hand and squeezed gently.

"So he…he showed you is bruises?" she asked quietly.

He nodded grimly, "Yeah, he showed me. I'm taking care of it Deb."

She pressed her lips together and nodded. Silence enveloped the room for a moment as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

"So," she asked with a smile, "what did I miss?"

* * *

><p><strong>Reviews make my world go round :)<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the reviews! Sorry this took so long but its good and juicy for you guys! **

**To Ajenkins, if you're still reading: Thank you so much for your review! I'm flattered that you would watch the show if I was a writer and I'm glad you like the story! I think I make it dramatic enough to do the show justice :) I just add smut to mine because well, it makes it so much more fun to read (and write!)**

**Speaking of which...THERE IS LOTS OF SMUTTY GOODNESS IN THIS CHAPTER! I think I got carried away but writing smut for Lucas/Nathan is soooo much fun and it's hot. Don't say I didn't warn you!**

**Disclaimer: No own for me!**

* * *

><p>Brooke had truly outdone herself; the party was in full swing with some drunk, other's tipsy, and a few completely wasted. The music was blasting, making the house shake with the amount of base coming from the surround-sound stereo. Girls were in the center of the living room dancing with little to no clothing, rubbing against each other provocatively, the guys watching with no shame while some of them were brave enough to join in. People were making-out and hooking-up everywhere and Nathan had no doubt that people would have sex right where they were but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was in way too good of a mood right now, happily drunk and leaning on Haley, who was surprisingly just as drunk as he and laughing at something Skillz said he couldn't even remember. The dark-skinned boy probably didn't even remember what he said as he was completely inebriated.<p>

He buried his nose in Haley's hair and smiled giddily; _these_ were the moments that he was grateful for in his fucked up life. His friends always knew how to make him feel better when Dan had gotten the better of him. He was grateful that he was able to enjoy the week away from his life with his boyfriend—now fiancé—and his friends and that they were able to end it with a blowout bash that Brooke dubbed 'the pre-prom party extravaganza'.

He felt someone collide into his back and wrap their arms around him, kissing his cheek sloppily. "Baaaabe I been lookin' ererywherrrreeee," Lucas slurred, falling into him more and ending on a burp. Nathan laughed, vaguely aware that Lucas was openly embracing him in front of people who didn't know they were a _they_ but his alcohol-clouded mind pushed the thought away and he turned around and grabbed Lucas, holding him upright as best he could.

"You…are _so_ drunk," Nathan said as seriously as he could but his face broke into a grin and he and Lucas were cracking up like Nathan had just told the greatest joke.

"Oh my god I know!" he exclaimed, his eyes blood-shot and dazed. When he was drinking earlier, he knew he would regret the massive hangover he was getting in the morning but now he was feeling too good to care. His friends were here, his boyfriend was away from his horrid father and safe and they were having a blast.

Nathan laughed loudly again before pressing his forehead to the blonde's suddenly, "I fucking love you Lucas Roe, even though you're reeeeally, _really _drunk and I'm really drunk and we won't remember this tomorrow."

Lucas bit his lip, giggled—actually giggled—and threw his arms around Nathan's neck, "I'll remember—" he was cut off when a wasted Brooke fell into their arms, laughing so hard she was crying.

"OH MY GOD I'M SO SORRY ARE YOU OKAY?" she yelled and Lucas pushed her away, her drunkenness and unsteadiness causing her to fall on her ass. Lucas and Nathan cracked up all over again and even Brooke couldn't contain her rambunctious laugher, half of her drink spilled on the tiled floor.

"Dude, _duuuude_," she slurred gasping, trying to talk and draw breath at the same time, "you guys should totally…sex me. I mean, I've already had sex with Nathan and he's, like, really goooood…but I wanna know what you're like, Lucas."

Nathan laughed and blinked at her while Lucas sputtered and flushed heavily, "B-but Brooke…I like it when Nathan fucks _me_ and _youuuu_ don't have a dick so it can't work."

Nathan immediately felt the blood in his body traveling south, thoughts of Lucas on his back crying out his name causing his already hazy mind to shut down. He grabbed Lucas, interrupting his and Brooke's vulgar discussion about how he could fuck her _and_ be fucked by Nathan and dragged him to a wall where not many people were standing, threw him against it and kissed him roughly. Lucas moaned and immediately rolled his hips into Nathan's and he growled, pinning both of Lucas' hands above him. He didn't give a rat's ass who could see them now, not when his boyfriend was so hot and needy and pressed against him in all the right places and suddenly he needed to be inside him.

He ripped himself away from the blonde's enticing lips and pulled him upstairs quickly. He threw open the door of the first room and stopped abruptly.

"Sorry!" he called out and Lucas laughed behind him as Haley looked up from her position on top of Chris, both shirtless. He pulled the door shut as he ran down the hall to their bedroom but before he could open it he was turned roughly and thrown into the door, Lucas' lips hot and insistent on his and he couldn't resist him. His hips were grinding mercilessly into his and he thought he wouldn't make to the bed if Lucas didn't stop.

"I want you sooooo bad," he moaned in Nathan's ear, "just do me right here."

"Fuck," Nathan muttered grasping at his pants to tug them down; he really couldn't wait anymore. He felt Lucas tugging at his pants as well and in no time he was springing free. He groaned in relief and he made quick work of Lucas' pants, dropping them to his ankles before he pulled him closer and grabbed both of their cocks, stroking them firmly and Lucas cried out, slamming a fist into the door. It cracked open and without thinking Nathan pulled him inside and closed it again half-locking it and thrusting Lucas against it, slipping one, saliva-covered finger inside of him.

"You're soo fuckin' sexy," he slurred out against his sweaty neck as Lucas threw his head back against the door harshly, groaning and panting. Nathan pushed him harder into the door and he wrapped his legs tightly around Nathan's waist after pulling off his pants and boxers, pushing back against his finger.

"Nathan-Nathan please baby please just fuck me-I can't—" he let out a half scream half sob as Nathan thrust in two fingers and touched that spot inside him that made him see stars and Nathan couldn't hold back anymore.

In a swift movement he replaced his finger with his cock and he slammed into him, bracing one hand against the door and the other one holding Lucas around his waist. Lucas keened and moaned in a pitch an octave higher than his actual voice, panting heavily as the younger boy pulled out and changed his angle pushing back in, making Lucas arch his back and his head dig into the door crying out incoherent phrases and gripping and Nathan's shoulders so harshly his skin turned bright red. Nathan continued to thrust hard and fast, gritting his teeth as he felt his release coming all too soon and he could tell Lucas was close too if the way he was writhing and moaning was any indication.

"Fuck!" he cried out gripping Nathan's shoulder's tightly enough for him to feel a slight sting of pain and it drove him over the edge; he slammed inside him once more and came hard, moaning loudly into Lucas shaking shoulder. The blonde let out a sob before he came all over their stomachs and chests, the sheer intensity of pleasure Nathan was giving him allowing him to reach climax without having to touch himself. He collapsed, his orgasm draining him of all energy and combined with Nathan's added weight they slid down into a boneless heap on the floor still breathing harshly. The vibrations from the bass of the music playing downstairs were lulling them into sleep until finally Nathan gained enough strength to get up and carry Lucas to the bed despite his un-coordinated limbs. He dropped the blonde and he moaned in appreciation of the soft bed before promptly passing out. Nathan laughed and settled next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Sometime in the middle of the night Lucas woke up slowly, still disoriented but more sober than he was before. He blinked to try and adjust to the darkness, wondering where he was and how he got there. He felt a hand on his stomach and a hardness pressing between his cheeks. He felt his own erection standing at attention as well and he rolled over to face Nathan who was still asleep. He smiled; Nathan looked so peaceful when he was asleep, like nothing, even the threat of Dan, could bother him there.

He stroked his face gently before kissing him on the cheek softly and pressing his nose there, nuzzling him. His lips dropped to his neck and his hand to stroke his cock. Nathan shifted slightly and Lucas grinned mischievously before sliding down the toned body with his tongue, dipping it into his belly-button and reaching the brown pubic hairs surrounding his cock. He kissed the insides of Nathan's thighs and the brunette sighed, pressing his head back into the pillow when Lucas kissed down to his knees and finally kissed the tip. He traced the thick vein in the underside with his tongue experimentally before taking him all in. Nathan groaned and thrust his hips up, hitting the back of Lucas' throat and it caught him off guard a bit but he forced Nathan's hips back down and pulled back, only to swallow him again and again, over and over, the tip touching the back of his throat each time. He flicked his tongue, moving it over his cock in such a way that Nathan cried out over and over again but Lucas couldn't tell if the teen was awake or not. Finally he felt Nathan pulse in his mouth and he took him in until he reached the base, bringing a hand to fondle his balls. Nathan clenched his jaw and grinded his teeth together, moaning through his teeth as he came, dropping back to the bed and breathing heavily as Lucas swallowed every last drop. He let him fall from his mouth and he placed a kiss on the tip before trailing his tongue over the brunette's stomach and chest again, this time stopping to lave at his nipples before sliding back up to his neck and sucking gently. Nathan's head lolled to the side and his eyes fluttered open as he grasped the warm body on top of him. He turned his head and kissed him, their tongues meeting halfway. Lucas let the kiss be dominated as Nathan rolled them over, their hands linking together and Nathan raised them above Lucas' head. He broke the kiss and stared into the baby blue eyes under him, rolling his hips down causing Lucas to moan.

"You're a tease," he murmured as he rolled his hips down again.

"You love it," Lucas whispered back as he reached up and kissed Nathan deeply, hands going to Nathan's hair as he massaged his scalp gently. They were so lost in each other they failed to hear the doorknob turn and the door pushed open. There was a loud gasp as the light switch was flipped on and they both turned to see who walked in. Lucas' heart sank as he saw Peyton's shocked face staring back at him before she turned and ran out of the room, blonde curls bouncing in her wake.

"Shit," Nathan swore softly as he grabbed the first pair of boxers—which were Lucas'—and threw them on before finding a shirt. Lucas scrambled to find a shirt before he took off after the distraught girl.

"Peyton! Peyton!" he called desperately as she ran outside. He followed her, grabbed her elbow and she swung around and slapped him, making him stagger to the side. He clutched his face and looked at her through wide eyes, "Peyton—"

"You son of a bitch!" she cried out angrily. "Is _he_ the one you've been seeing? Is he the reason we broke up?"

"Peyton, I wanted to tell you…" Lucas started but Peyton had started swearing. He was thankful she started though; he had no idea what he was going to say about his actions.

"You wanted to tell me yet _everyone_ knew **except for me**!" she screamed at him. "What the fuck is wrong with you? How could you leave me for—for a guy! And Nathan fucking Scott of all fucking people!"

"I'm sorry okay?" Lucas yelled back, thankful that everyone was preoccupied or too drunk to notice what was happening. "I didn't mean to hurt you and I'm sorry! I just—I fell in love with him and I didn't know what to do!"

"You fell in love with him," she repeated faintly, stepping backwards. "How long have you been in love with him Lucas? Since _we _were together?"

"I…" Lucas trailed off, unsure of how to go about answering that particular question. If he did, he would admit to cheating on her and he didn't want to hurt her anymore right now. But he also didn't want to lie and the truth had a way of making itself known in this town.

"How long Lucas?" she demanded testily.

"Since…since Christmas break."

"Did you fuck him while you were still with me?" she spat angrily and Lucas flinched at her tone. He had _never_ heard her sound so angry.

"I…Peyton I didn't do this to hurt you it just…happened."

"Oh my god," she said in disbelief, tears now falling down her cheeks. "You—I gave you _everything_ and you just go fuck your best _guy _friend! You're sick, Lucas, you and Nathan both!" she screamed before letting out a loud sob and running to her car. Lucas followed her quickly, heart thumping madly in his chest as he thought about what this meant. _She's going to tell __**everyone**__ why we broke up. People are going to find out about us, __**Dan**__ is going to find out!_

"Peyton please can we talk about this?" Lucas begged as she stabbed at her car angrily, trying to stick the key in the lock.

"I have nothing more to say to you, faggot," she hissed out and Lucas felt dread seeping into him; it was the first time he'd been call that by someone who knew the truth. "I'm going to tell _everyone_ that you're a cheater and who exactly you cheated on me with. I hope you feel as humiliated as I do you sick bastard!" she turned to him, her face twisted in pure fury, "I wonder how the team is going to feel when they find out you like it up the ass like a little slut and when they find out you let Nathan make you his bitch."

Lucas gaped at the girl he thought he once loved, wondering what happened to the sweet girl he would love hanging out with. This cold-hearted bitch in front of him…he didn't know her at all. This new Peyton scared him because he knew what she had the power of doing.

If Peyton made good on her threat, word could get back to Dan and if Dan found out…he was sure Nathan would never see the light of day again.

"Peyton please, please don't say anything," Lucas begged as she finally unlocked her door and got into the car angrily. "I know you're mad just…please don't say anything. Please, I'm _begging_ you!"

"Just like you beg Nathan to fuck you?" she shot back and Lucas bit his lip to keep from crying or screaming. "It's too late to ask for favors Lucas. Now you and Nathan can know what it's like to face humiliation." She started the car and backed up quickly, speeding down the road and out of sight. Lucas watched her go, a feeling of dread and sickness rising in his throat that he was sure wasn't from the alcohol.

* * *

><p>The next morning was not a pleasant one for people. Many were suffering from massive hangovers and illness, people running in and out of the bathrooms to throw-up or to relieve themselves while they were busy creating remedies in the kitchen. Others went out and enjoyed the beach for a while before they had to head home. Haley and Brooke were doing none of these activities, opting to get started on cleaning up their messes from last night, which unfortunately, there was plenty of. Haley groaned as she bent down to fast to grab a cup, her head spinning unpleasantly as she used the arm of the couch to steady herself. There was a reason she didn't drink and this was a good reminder of why she should never do it again.<p>

"Never again," she muttered. Someone laughed and Haley glanced up, smiling when she saw Chris. She was glad things weren't awkward between them after last night; she hadn't been ready to go all the way just yet and he understood, opting to do…other activities instead. She shivered; that boy's tongue was more useful than just for singing, that was for sure.

"Need help? You look like you're gonna pass out," she snorted at him before thrusting the garbage bag at him and picking up the cup.

"If you would like to be on trash duty, be my guest. Though I don't blame you for going to enjoy the beach for a while," he looked out the window thoughtfully before grabbing the bag.

"If I can't enjoy it with you then what's the point?" he winked at her before walking to pick up more bottles and cups. She smiled, a blush crossing her cheeks before going to get a fresh bag.

She was intercepted by Nathan who was looking worse for wear and she frowned, "You look like hell."

"And you look better?" he shot back, looking over her frazzled hair that stuck up every which way, smeared eyeliner and he was pretty sure she had her shirt on backwards. He smirked as he remembered walking in on her and Chris and she shoved him lightly, "Shut-up!"

"Who knew Haley James had _such _a wild side?" he teased before going to grab water from the fridge. He leaned against the door and raised the bottle to his lips, gulping heavily before taking a deep breath and sighing. "We may have a serious problem."

"What happened…did you guys actually give Brooke the threesome she wanted?" she asked in slight horror.

Nathan laughed, "I wish. I would rather be dealing with that than this." The smile left his face, "Peyton walked in on me and Lucas…you know."

"What?" she cried and dropped the box of trash bags onto the counter. "Did she see anything?"

"She saw _everything,_ Haley, and now she's threatening to tell everyone," he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He wasn't freaking out as much as he felt he should've been; it would hit him later when he was sober enough to understand what this could all mean.

"Nathan…this is not good, if your dad finds out…" she shuddered at the thought. An angry Mr. Scott did not seem like someone you would want to mess with, _ever._

"I know," he sighed again. "I don't know what to do and it doesn't help that Lucas is freaking out because he thinks Dan's going to kill me or something."

"Can you blame him? You've showed up on his doorstep with bruises from Dan that you got just because he could. He has a right to freak out, Nate, we all do."

"It's not making things better," he muttered, taking another sip. "I already don't want to go home; this is going to make it so much worse."

"I thought you weren't going home?" she asked and he shook his head.

"Keith called earlier, said my mom woke up yesterday. He wanted me to stay up here though and enjoy the rest of my vacation. There's something else he wants me to do but he said we'd talk about it when I got back."

"Sounds comforting," she murmured, "But hey—your mom's awake! Does she…remember anything?" Haley asked.

"Yeah…that's probably what our talk is about."

"Everything's going to be fine, Nate," Haley soothed as she finally wrenched a trash bag from the box. "Whatever Peyton does…we'll deal with it okay? And who knows? Maybe she'll have a heart and not tell anyone."

"If you saw her face Haley, you would have thought we killed her mom…both of them," he snorted and Haley swatted at him for his comment. It was common knowledge that Peyton's adoptive mother and birth mother were both dead from cancer.

"You broke her heart, same equivalent to a girl," she said and the brunette laughed. She threw him the box, "Make yourself useful yeah?"

"I'm not the one who threw the party!" he called after her but she hurried away. He sighed and pulled a bag out, deciding to start upstairs.

* * *

><p>The drive back to Tree Hill was apprehensive and tense. Lucas was holding Nathan's hand for dear life as the brunette drove and he was clenching his jeans nervously in the other. Nathan looked over at him and sighed, "Babe, there's nothing we can do about it now. If she wants to tell people, she will. Peyton and I have never gotten along so she'll probably make good on her threat."<p>

"I just…I should have tried harder to convince her that she couldn't tell people—well she can but just not to where it can get back to Dan…why are you not freaking out?" Lucas asked finally.

"Because you're doing enough of it for both of us," Nathan said in a slightly teasing voice. Lucas shot him a glare and he sighed, "Lucas, my uncle Keith moved in over break, remember? Unless Dan plans on pushing him down the stairs too, I'll be fine! Keith knows to watch out for himself and for me."

"All he needs is to get you alone Nathan, then what?" Lucas asked quietly. "When you're sleeping, when you're in the shower, hell when you're taking a piss, he'll get you Nate!"

"Lucas stop!" Nathan snapped at him. He pulled over to the side and turned to him. "_Nothing_ is going to happen to me, alright? I'm going to be fine!"

He felt guilty when Lucas bit his lip and looked away; Nathan could tell he was close to crying. "Babe," he whispered, bringing a hand to raise his chin. Lucas closed his eyes, one tear making its way down his face. "Look at me Lucas," he demanded softly. The blond opened the watery baby blues.

"I'm going to be fine," he said with conviction; he almost believed himself. "Everything is going to be fine, okay? If she tells people, we'll just deny it and tell people they can believe whatever the hell they want, okay? Dan won't find out, I promise."

Lucas didn't say anything and Nathan sighed before pulling back out onto the road. The silence took hold again, each lost in their own thoughts.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

After dropping their belongings off at Lucas' house they made their way to the hospital. Lucas resisted the urge to hold Nathan's had as they walked in past the receptionist's desk and down the hall to him mother's room. His heart stopped when he came upon the scene of Keith, Karen, Deb and two police officers who were all standing around her bed. Nathan felt his feet take a step back, throat suddenly dry and closed up, _what the hell is this?_

"Nathan," Lucas said softly placing a hand on his lower back.

"You knew," he murmured, feeling betrayed. Lucas looked down, avoiding his gaze.

"You need to do this babe; it's for your own good."

"I can't…he'll kill me and you know that! Were you not just upset that Peyton knew when we were in the car?"

"Nathan, _please_!" Lucas pleaded, clutching his arm, "Please just tell them! I can't stand to see you get hurt anymore. _Please_, Nathan…for me?"

Nathan found it hard to be mad at those baby blue eyes that were scared for him. He sighed, pushing aside the betrayal he felt and after taking a deep breath, he walked inside. The adults all turned to look at him and Lucas but he ignored them all as his eyes only held his mother.

"Mom," he choked out before rushing to hug her tightly. She kissed his head and wrapped her arms around him, "It's alright Nathan; I'm okay."

"Do you…do you remember what happened?" he asked quietly and she nodded.

"I was just telling the officers my version…but they want to hear yours."

Nathan tensed and looked at the two officers, a blond man and a brunette woman, who were gazing at him sympathetically. He gulped and he inwardly started to panic. Lucas must have sensed it because a hand found its way into his and he squeezed it tightly.

"Nathan," the blonde man began in a gentle voice, "we hear that things aren't so good at home. Is that true?"

He blinked at them; he _knew_ he needed to tell the truth but…his family would be torn apart and never right again. He may have hated Dan with every fiber of his being but he was still his father. Would his son be the downfall of this family? Could he live with knowing that his words could possibly put his own father behind bars? But Dan said the police wouldn't believe him or his mother, so why were they here? Was this Dan's way of trying to trap them, possibly kill them? The questions swirled around in Nathan's head and he didn't know what to believe; he desperately wished someone would tell him what to do.

"Nathan, it's okay to tell us," the woman said in a gentle voice. "We understand this must be difficult so if you want to we can go somewhere else—"

"N-No, I want to stay here," he said quickly; he was sure if he left the room the officers would drag him off to his father.

The officers looked at each other, "Are you sure? We have some personal questions we'll need to ask."

"I want to stay. They know everything anyway," he said firmly and they nodded.

The blonde man spoke again, "I'm Officer Wilcox and this is Officer Rice; your uncle called us and told us that your mother was pushed down the stairs and your father has been abusing you for the past year?"

"Year and a half," he muttered looking at the ground.

"Has he touched you, Nathan?"

Nathan felt tears of shame burn in his eyes and he didn't raise his head. Lucas frowned; Nathan _never_ mentioned Dan sexually abusing him at all. He didn't want to believe it but the dread was starting to seep into his body. "Nathan…?"

"Its okay, Nate," Keith said softly and Nathan raised his head, two tears falling down his cheeks. He nodded slightly and turned to the officers. "He doesn't touch me he…he makes me touch him," he finished in a hoarse whisper.

Lucas let go of Nathan's hand and brought them to cover his mouth in shock and horror. This couldn't be true, not _his_ boyfriend! After everything Nathan had endured he had to go through Dan _touching_ him too? Deb let out a whimper as she heard Nathan's confession and Keith wrapped an arm around her tightly.

"Has he raped you, Nathan?"

"No." The room let out a collective sigh of relief on that one. But the knowledge that Dan had Nathan do…god knows what to him made each of them sick. The officers continued to ask Nathan and his mother questions and they answered all of them but Lucas didn't hear anything after the newest information. It was all he could do to not bolt out of the room and he wondered just how much of Dan's abuse Nathan had kept from him.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

If Nathan had thought the ride from the beach house to Tree Hill was bad, the trip from the hospital to Lucas' house was murder. The only noise that was heard was the car on the road. Lucas didn't even look at him not matter how many times Nathan tried to meet his gaze. He felt sick; he knew Lucas would find out eventually, no matter how badly he wanted to keep it a secret but now that he knew…it changed everything.

He pulled to a stop in front of the house and he stopped the car, neither one of them moving. When Nathan finally got the courage to say something the door of the car was slamming and Lucas was running to his room. The brunette pressed his lips together and dug his fingers into his hair. Lucas was going to break up with him. He knew it was coming; he should have known that someone as fucked up as him couldn't hang on to someone like Lucas. He was too good to be true, a ray of rare sunshine in his dark world. Now that ray of hope and goodness he found was about to be taken away and it was all his fault because he couldn't keep a secret.

When he was certain he wasn't going to burst into tears he got out the car and went to Lucas' door. He paused uncertainly, wondering if Lucas had locked him out and what he heard surprised him: Lucas was _crying_.

His heart broke as he listened to his beautiful blonde cry into his pillow, the muffled sobs piercing his heart like knives. Bracing himself, he pushed the door open and walked gingerly to the bed, sitting on the end and reaching out a hand to rub Lucas' back. He continued this for a good hour before Lucas sat up, his face red and streaked with tears, and turned to Nathan.

"Why?" Lucas croaked, tears still streaming down his face, his usually bright blue eyes full of complete misery. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because…because I didn't know how," said the brunette quietly, putting his head in his hands. How the hell had things come to this? This was the one thing that he didn't want exposed from his home, the one thing he wanted to keep completely to himself, and he couldn't even do that.

"You didn't know how?" asked Lucas incredulously, voice rising in anger and trepidation. "I'm your best friend Nathan, I—we—we're supposed to tell each other _everything!_"

"I know and I'm sorry—why the fuck are _you_ getting angry?" Nathan snapped jumping up, his anger prevailing over his guilt and sadness. "So I wanted to keep something to myself! You don't have to know every little thing that happened to me in that house!"

"He _made you __touch him_ Nathan! You didn't think that was something you should let your _fiancé_ know?" Lucas screamed back. "So what, you didn't trust me or did you think I was going to be shallow and leave you?"

"Don't make this about you! It has nothing to do with you Lucas!" Nathan yelled back. "You're so _selfish_! I've never asked you to talk about things you didn't want to, so why is this any different?"

"Because he hurt you, you idiot! He was abusing you and I could have—should have done something! If you told me—"

"So this is because you feel guilty?" Nathan snarled bitterly. "Just like the reason you broke up with Peyton? Because you felt guilty about stringing along your poor abused best friend that you were using to find out if you liked fucking guys?"

After the words left his mouth he immediately regretted them; the look on Lucas' face changed rapidly from anger to one of pure hurt. There was no denying that his comment had wounded the blonde deeply and he didn't even believe a word that came out of his mouth.

"You think that I broke up with Peyton because I pitied you? You think I let you fuck me because I pity you? You think that I agreed to fucking marry you and spend the rest of my life with you because I feel sorry for you? How could…how could you think so little of me?" Lucas ended in a whisper, a new batch of tears coming to his eyes but unlike the other ones, he refused to let these fall. If that was truly what Nathan thought of him and their relationship then he didn't see how they could work, no matter how much he loved him; Nathan would always believe that Lucas didn't love him and that if he left Peyton the way he did, he could easily do that to him. He took the ring off his finger and threw it at the brunette.

"Here, since I supposedly wore this out of pity, you can have it back. But just so you know…I _never_ pitied you Nathan, you know why? Because you're the strongest person I know and I knew that no matter how much shit Dan put you through, you would always be strong enough to deal with it. I support you, I always will, but I have _never_ pitied you," he said sadly and turned to leave.

"Lucas, wait—"

"You made yourself clear on how you felt," he said quietly, "you believe that our relationship was based off of pity and lies and guilt. I love you Nathan; I love you more than I have ever loved _anyone_, but I can't see how this will work if you don't realize that."

He left quickly, leaving Nathan staring at the spot where his blonde was previously standing with a sinking heart and wondering what the hell just happened.

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><p><strong>Reviews will make Nathan feel better!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Thank you for the reviews! And now on with Chapter 11, which is a little long but I didn't think you guys would mind ;) That, and there's plenty of fluffiness and love :)**

**Disclaimer: Don't own.**

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><p>"Wow…I can't believe you said that!"<p>

"I know Haley," Nathan sighed lying on her bed on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. "But all I could think about was how he was with me while he was with Peyton and…I don't know! I just said it!"

"Well I guess that makes sense, you didn't deserve what he did to you but doesn't he want to marry you?" asked the math tutor as she sat by Nathan. "We both know what type of person Lucas is and he would never have agreed to marry you if he didn't love you."

"He threw the ring at my head; I think the wedding's off," Nathan sighed miserably; it had been almost two weeks since he'd spoken to Lucas after their fight and he couldn't have felt more horrible. He still couldn't believe that he had said those things to him after everything Lucas had done for him and every time he replayed their fight in his head he felt sick. He knew Lucas loved him just as much as he loved the blonde, but his insecurities about Peyton and Dan had gotten in the way and clouded his better judgment. Nathan snorted bitterly; even when Dan wasn't around he still managed to fuck with him.

He felt a comforting hand on his back and he smiled gratefully though Haley couldn't see it. These past few days without the blonde by him had been pure hell. Even his teammates knew something was up between the two because of Lucas giving Nathan the cold shoulder and preferring to partner up with Skillz at practice instead. Every time he tried to talk to Lucas the blonde would give a betrayed look and walk away with his head down. He knew he needed to fix this situation fast; the longer he waited, the more Lucas might come to resent him and he did not want to lose him because he was acting like an insecure jerk.

He had gone to see his mom every day since their fight, completely at a loss as to what to do. When he told his mom about him and Lucas being together she didn't seem all that surprised, which made him wonder if it was as plain to everyone that he'd always been in love with the brooding basketball player. He'd told her about their fight and she had listened patiently without any interruptions or questions, which Nathan was grateful for.

_ "I know I shouldn't have said that to him, he just wants to help me," he said miserably, "I was just so overwhelmed because I felt like uncle Keith was forcing me to tell the police what was happening and they told me not to leave anything out and I didn't want Lucas or his mom to hear everything we've had to go through and he was so hurt mom! How could I have told him everything Dan was doing when it already hurt him to hear the things I __**did**__ tell him?"_

_ "Nathan, Lucas is upset because he loves you so much and he doesn't want to see you hurt," she smiled. "He wants to share your burden honey, that's what people do when they love someone; they face the problem together."_

_ "But it's my problem! He shouldn't have to know the things Dan has done to me! I just want to protect him," whispered Nathan sadly. He'd already felt ashamed that he brought Lucas and the girls into this mess. He should have never befriended any of them; their lives would be so much less complicated without him._

_ "I know you do honey, but Lucas is a big boy. He knew what he was getting into and that didn't stop him from wanting to be with you. And Haley and Brooke still hung around even when you told them what your home life was like. Don't push them away now Nathan; they are your friends, and you need them just as much as they need you. Never doubt you are loved Nathan; Dan may not have shown you that but there are plenty of people that love you no matter what happens. Hold onto that, okay sweetie?" she grabbed his hand and squeezed lightly._

_ Nathan felt tears spring to his eyes and before he could stop it, one had fallen, setting off a chain reaction for the dam to break. "I don't know what to do," he whispered mournfully, "I don't…I don't know where I go from here. I—I'm so messed up because of him! How am I supposed to move past all this?_

_ "It's going to take time baby," she comforted. It broke her heart to see her son so distraught. "What you've been through—what we've been through is traumatizing and it's going to leave scars, physical, emotional and mental. But time heals all sweetie, and the more time you spend with people you love and doing things you love, the more that pain will disappear until it's just something you think about every now and then. It'll never fully leave you, and you'll never fully forget it, but you will move past this and eventually it will all just be a bad memory. Don't start this road to recovery by pushing your friends away; your friends and your family will be the ones to pull you through this Nathan." She kissed the top of his head as he laid his head in her lap, tears still falling as she stroked his hair. _

His mother had said he should fix things with Lucas as soon as possible, but if Lucas wouldn't talk to him how was he supposed to explain everything?

"How do I fix this Haley? He won't even look at me," Nathan said miserably, burying his face in the green pillow. "I really fucked up."

"Yeah you did…but I think the best thing you can do now is give him space. He needs time to get over it and you need time to sort out your feelings too."

"About what?" he asked. "That stuff I said—it's not even true."

"But that's how you feel, isn't it? If that wasn't how you felt then you wouldn't have said it—even in the heat of the moment," she said cutting him off when he started to speak. "Nathan, I honestly don't blame you for saying what you said. With everything you've been through these past few months with your dad and then the Lucas and Peyton situation it's a wonder you haven't completely lost your mind. But there are issues that you and Lucas never talked about that you need to address, like the Peyton situation and now the...sexual abuse," she shuddered; Nathan had come clean to Haley and Brooke, telling them about all of the abuse he'd never told them about as well as the sexual abuse he endured. They had all cried in each other's arms for hours and fell asleep in Brooke's king sized bed afterwards, snuggled tightly together as if Dan were going to come and rip Nathan away.

"What if he decides it's too much work to be with me?" Nathan said in a small voice. "What if he doesn't want to talk and decides he's better off without me? I don't…I don't know how I'll survive that Hales."

"Something tells me that won't be a problem," said Haley looking over at the cellphone lighting up and buzzing between them. She smiled and lifted the phone to show Nathan, "He's calling you."

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><p>"Just call him Lucas!" Brooke said loudly. Lucas had been at her house for the past three hours moping about his fight with Nathan, just as he had been for the past week and a half. And while Brooke understood that they had had their biggest fight yet where a lot of unresolved issues had been brought to attention, she was getting tired of seeing them both look so devastated and acting as if there was no hope for their relationship to survive.<p>

"I don't know what to say to him Brooke," said Lucas, his voice muffled by the plush pink pillow he was shoving his face in before lifting his head. "He basically said that I was only with him out of pity and the only reason I was angry that he didn't tell me about Dan was because I felt guilty about not doing something. What the hell am I supposed to say to that?"

"The truth," she replied simply, applying green eye-shadow to her closed lids. "You call him and you tell him that all that stuff he said was bullshit and you love him more than anything. Even Peyton," she put down the brush and turned to look at him with a hint of worry. "You…you do love him more than you loved Peyton, right?"

"I don't think I ever loved Peyton," he said lifting his head and meeting her gaze, "I…I wanted to but something…I felt like something was missing but then when me and Nathan…it just felt…right, you know?"

She stared at him for a minute before a small smile graced her face, "You're lucky I'm rooting for you and Nathan, you know that? Otherwise I'd have to kill you for what you're saying about my girl!"

He laughed, "Yeah, I guess I am…how is Peyton?" he asked tentatively.

"She's still pissed…and heartbroken," said Brooke carefully applying blush to her cheeks, "but she'll live. I think Jake is going to ask her to prom."

"Jake?" Lucas asked surprised, "I…wow. I never would've guessed she was his type."

"Neither did I; but apparently he has a thing for blondes. He's been asking me a lot about her and a lot about what the two of you were like together; he knows she's still in love with you and he wanted to see if he had a chance. I told him that he didn't have to worry about you trying to get her back…but now we're getting sidetracked! You're supposed to call Nathan and tell him you want to talk!"

Lucas groaned; his plan of distracting Brooke failed him. "I don't know what to say!"

"Well you can start with apologizing for throwing your engagement ring at his head."

"Funny…I didn't aim for his head!"

"I was being serious Luke."

"I know," he sighed. "Just…how could he honestly think that I would do all of this out of pity? I know I screwed with his head when I was messing with him while being with Peyton and I feel guilty about that but I broke up with her because _he's_ the one I wanted to be with! Shouldn't that mean something? If I really didn't love him I would've kept him on the side and kept Peyton as my girlfriend."

"Well…" Brooke hesitated, sounding unsure.

"What…you've talked to him about this, haven't you?" Lucas said sitting up and giving Brooke his full attention. "I know you guys have…you were mad at me nearly the whole time and I'm sure he was too. So let's hear it."

Silence enveloped the room for a few moments and then…

"You have to understand Luke; he was really upset because he loves you _so_ much and things with his father was starting to get really bad—well I guess it was _beyond_ bad from what we've just found out—and he didn't know how to tell you how he felt without making you choose between him and Peyton—"

"So tell me," Lucas repeated, "how did he feel about it?"

"Shouldn't you hear it from him?" she asked anxiously, wringing her hands in her lap.

"I want to be prepared if it's bad and from your expression, it's not hard to guess it is," he countered.

She sighed, "He hated you for what you were doing to him and he wanted to stop because he knew what you guys were doing was wrong and as much as he…dislikes Peyton…you know why he does, don't look at me like that…he didn't think she deserved that. He wanted to end it but he just…couldn't. He told me, 'if this is the closest that I get to being with him, I'm gonna take it. I know that he's playing me, that he's only using me as an 'experiment' and I know what we're doing is wrong, but…but if this is what it takes to make him happy, I'm going to do it, because I want him to be happy no matter what.' And when I saw you the next day, you were with Peyton and I thought about what he said and I got so angry because it just didn't seem _fair_ that Nathan was so in love with you that he would do absolutely anything for you and you…you didn't seem to care."

Lucas bit his lip and Brooke sighed again at his expression of pure guilt. He had _no_ idea that Nathan felt that way, mostly because he never asked; they had never really talked the Peyton situation and how it affected the abused brunette and when Lucas voiced this allowed, Brooke put down her brushes on her vanity and sat on her bed next to the brooding blonde.

"I think you didn't want to talk about it because you already knew how he was going to feel and it scared you," she said gently. "Cheating is a hurtful thing Luke and you were pretty much cheating on both of them. I think you didn't want to know Nathan's feelings because you were afraid he'd hate you."

"And it sounds like he did. I can't blame him…I treated him like shit. I've hurt him so much and I never realized just how much he…" he trailed off, looking at the huge poster of Gavin DeGraw situated on the wall. "I don't deserve him, I'm a horrible person. He deserves so much better than that, than what I've put him through."

"You're a good person Lucas, you were just confused! You liked that you were finally dating Peyton, but then your feelings for Nathan changed and you didn't know which one to let go so you tried to keep them both happy; but it backfired because _you_ weren't happy with what you were doing and you were scared that Nathan would hate you and you'd lose him or that Peyton would find out and you would lose her."

"Geeze Brooke, analyze much? You should be a psychologist," Lucas joked trying to lighten the mood and the brunette girl let out a small smile.

"Nah, I'll stick to my clothes. I just know a lot about relationships from experience," she said. "So was I right?"

He looked at her pink ceiling, "I didn't even know how I felt. I knew what I was doing was wrong and I felt horrible for doing it to Nathan, and I felt even worse when I realized that I didn't feel anywhere near as bad for doing it to Peyton and then…I knew that Nathan would always be the one I chose. Does that make me a bad person…that I chose to hurt Peyton instead of letting Nathan go?"

"I remember a certain person telling me when I was torn between Felix and Chase that the heart wants what it wants," she said smiling. "Your head told you that you should stay with Peyton because it was what you wanted for so long but your heart chose Nathan and sooner or later you were going to wind up following your heart Luke; it's what you do."

"And look where that's got us!" Lucas exclaimed. "Sometimes it pays to follow your head, you wind up hurting less people that way! His family has been torn apart because _I_ pushed him to tell his uncle and the police what he's been going through, and now we aren't even speaking. I shouldn't have kissed him that night; he was so vulnerable and he needed a friend and I went and made him my fling on the side! I should have been looking out for him more than myself. I knew he was willing to be with me despite everything and I took advantage of that! What kind of person does that?" he quieted down. "All I've done is cause him more unnecessary pain."

"That's not true! Think of everything you _have _done Luke; you kept Nathan safe and away from Dan most nights! If he hadn't been staying at your house all those nights he probably would be in worse shape than he is now! You've stood by him while he's suffered through his abuse, you pushed him to get help by telling someone who can actually _do_ something…you have been the best friend he needed through _all_ of that! Yes, you messed up with him and Peyton, but being with him has made you a better person. You guys are really meant to be together; you guys complete each other, you guys make each other better and you know as well as I do that you'd never find anyone else like Nathan. So why would you give him up so easily?"

Silence reigned in the room as Lucas thought about her question. She was right, she was _always_ right. Why would he give up on someone who he knew he would always want in his life? Why, after everything they had been through, would he give up on their relationship? Nathan has been his best friend since 4th grade and they had promised that they would always be best friends no matter what. And he was not about to break that promise.

"You're right," he said after a few moments. "I may not deserve Nathan but I love him with everything I am and I will spend a _lifetime_ showing him what it really means to be loved. Even if he doesn't take me back, even if he doesn't want to speak to me anymore, I'm gonna fight for him because I owe him that much. After everything we've been through together, we both deserve another shot at making this work."

"There's the Lucas I know! God I've missed you this past week and a half!" Brooke cried in relief and drew the blonde into a tight hug; his laughter vibrated through her chest and it made her happy to see her friend become himself again. Nathan had a long road of recovery ahead of him and she wanted all of them—especially Lucas—to be there for him every step of the way. They had tackled every problem they ever faced together and this shouldn't be any different.

Her smile threatened to split her face when Lucas picked up his phone with determination and dialed the number he knew by heart. His heart was pumping at 100 miles an hour and he was pretty sure he'd never been this nervous before, even before a game. But the game wasn't the most important thing in his life; Nathan was.

"I feel like throwing another party now!" she sang happily running into the hallway with her cellphone to call everyone and to give the blonde some privacy. Her best friends were making up, Nathan's father was undoubtedly going to prison and all was right with the world. A prom after-party would be what everyone needed.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

The phone rang and rang and Lucas' stomach sank as no one answered. Maybe he had gotten a bit too hopeful about maybe Nathan wanting to talk to him so soon; he had been ignoring him for the past week so it was only fair that—

"H—Hello?" a familiar voice spoke softly on the other line full of disbelief.

"Hey…hey it's me," Lucas cringed at how unsure he sounded and how his voice got all croaky. Of course Nathan knew it was him!

"Hi—hi, how…how are you?" Nathan asked carefully, as if he would say something that would cause Lucas to hang up on him. The blonde felt his stomach clench again and he sat on Brooke's large pink bed to stop himself from walking a hole in the middle of her bedroom floor.

"I'm…good. I'm good and you? How is…everything?" he asked quietly.

"It's fine. They've—they've started the investigation on Dan," Nathan said just as quietly, "Detective Wilcox said they took him into custody today."

"That's…that's really good Nate. I'm glad that he's finally going to be locked up." Lucas ran a hand through his hair in frustration; why couldn't he get out the words he really wanted to say?

There was a brief silence as each boy thought about what to say. There was so much they needed to talk about and now the words wouldn't come until Nathan finally broke the silence.

"I…I miss you Luke," he breathed, "I miss you so much and…and I'm so, so sorry for everything."

"I miss you too Nate…and I'm the one who should be sorry. I overreacted and you had every right to not want to tell me what happened. I can't imagine how hard this situation must be and I'm sorry I pushed you into telling people when you weren't ready. It…it wasn't right of me," he paused. "Can I—do you want to meet at the river court?"

"Yeah…yeah I'll be there in 10."

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><p>The river court was the one place in Tree Hill where Lucas felt like he could really think in peace. He had come here plenty of times when he was dealing with his Nathan-Peyton situation, when he lost his father and his godfather had left him and his mom. Watching Skillz and the others play and even playing with them sometimes took his mind off things for a while and just made him feel better in general.<p>

He was brought out of his musings when the brown-haired boy sat down next to him, not too close yet not close enough. The two sat in silence for a while; it wasn't awkward considering their situation, but it was calm and peaceful. Finally Nathan got the courage to speak.

"You're right," he said softly, "I should have told you…and I didn't because I feel dirty and pathetic for even letting it happen to me. I should have been able to fight him off and I couldn't. I…you deserve so much better than me Luke but I'm too selfish to let you go."

"How could you even _think_ that you aren't good enough Nate? If anything I'm not good enough to be with _you_," Lucas finally turned his head to face him. "I used you. I knew you had feelings for me and I took advantage of you and for that I'm so, so sorry Nathan. I never told you how sorry I was for that. I should have never…you were vulnerable and scared and you needed your best friend and I treated you like shit. You deserve someone who will always put you first no matter what," he looked away with his head hanging.

Nathan stared at him with wide eyes, "Wha—what does…are you breaking up with me?"

"No!" Lucas cried and turned his head so fast his hair went in all directions, "No I—I love you Nathan and I don't want to let you go…but I also know that I hurt you deeply and if you…I don't want you to think you have to be with me if you don't wan—"

He never finished his sentence as Nathan had reached across the bench and gathered him into his arms, kissing the fears and doubts he had out of him. He whimpered slightly and returned the kiss full-force, the longing each of them felt for each other this past week poured into the kiss. He could barely breathe as Nathan's tongue traced every corner of the mouth he'd missed so much; there was no way he could _ever_ let the brunette walk out of his life. He'd fight with every last breath in his body for Nathan if he had too; to protect him from the world, from Dan, from everyone that hurt him, including himself.

When neither could breathe they pulled back, gasping for air. Nathan, not willing to lose any contact between them, kissed the corners of the blonde's eyes and lips while stroking his hair lightly. Lucas had wrapped his arms around Nathan's shoulders as their foreheads touched.

"I love you," Nathan murmured. "I have to be with you Lucas. No one else will do it for me, I've already told you."

"I love you too. I couldn't imagine being with anyone else," Lucas said just as quietly. He caressed Nathan's light stubble tenderly, placing kisses every now and then. The silence that enveloped them now was serene; nothing could've taken away the peacefulness of that moment. The two sat like this for over an hour, just relishing in the feel of being together once more. Eventually, Nathan pulled back and kissed Lucas' palm, pulling a ring out of his pocket. Lucas blinked; this ring was different than the one he'd first given him. He looked at Nathan questioningly and he smiled, "My mom…it was hers when Dan asked her to marry her. She told me to sell it and get a better one for you since she's divorcing him. She doesn't need or want it anymore."

Lucas laughed and kissed Nathan on the forehead, "Nathan Scott, are you asking me to marry you…again?"

"If you'll have me," Nathan said with mock seriousness. Lucas pretended to think about it for all of two seconds before Nathan shoved him gently and he laughed again, "Of course. I'm surprised you still want to marry me considering I threw the last ring at your head."

"And you missed. So either you have horrible aim or I have amazing reflexes…or both," Nathan said cockily and Lucas shoved him before standing. "I wish we had a basketball so I could beat your ass in one-on-one."

"Someone need a basketball?" a new voice said and they turned to see Skillz, Mouth, Junk and others who usually played at the river court walking towards them. Nathan smiled at them, "How'd you know?"

"Kind of figured y'all would be here making up," Skillz said with a laugh, "you guys really can't fool anyone; everyone on the team knew there was _something_ going on. So how long y'all been together?"

Lucas and Nathan stared at him wide-eyed, "Uh…well, um…we,"

"Nathan, no offense, but you broke up with Brook Davis and _no guy_ in their right mind would do something like that," Mouth said and everyone laughed. "And then Lucas breaks up with Peyton out of the blue so we somewhat suspected that you guys were dancing around each other...and the way you two look at each other—it's hard not to notice something going on."

"I didn't know we were so obvious," Lucas muttered and Nathan flushed and shook his head. "Does the whole team know?"

"Well…yeah. Even Coach has seen it but he doesn't care. As long as we keep winning."

Nathan groaned and Lucas laughed, "Well we've been together for a while and…" he trailed off looking at Nathan and the brunette gave him a slight nod. He turned back to his team and his friends and took a deep breath, "And we're getting married."

"Wow! Congrats man!" Skillz and Mouth exclaimed, the happiness apparent on their faces. Junk embraced him and Lucas laughed; Skillz and Mouth both shook Nathan's hand and the smile on the brunette's face could have outshone the sun. He couldn't believe how today had turned out; he got his fiancé back, his teammates, who apparently knew for a while about them, accepted them with open arms and here they were discussing wedding plans while about to play a game of ball. His mother was safe, Dan was in custody and right now, everything was perfect.

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><p>"You think Nathan will be okay?" Karen asked as she and Keith sat on the steps of her front porch, each holding a mug of tea. They were sitting closer than friends usually sat elbows and legs touching and Karen didn't know if it was the contact or the tea that was keeping her warm.<p>

"He'll be fine now, he has us, his friends, Lucas…I can't believe they're getting married," Keith laughed quietly into his mug. Karen smiled; she'd seen it coming but she was nonetheless excited when Lucas told her. Then he and Nathan had stopped talking for the past week and a half she thought Lucas would never be happy again.

"I thought they were broken up?" she asked and he snorted.

"That won't last long; they love each other too much to cut each other out of their lives. They may be going through a rough patch but they're still getting married at _some_ point." Keith shook his head, "The way Nathan looks at Lucas…I'm surprised you didn't notice their relationship sooner."

She shoved her shoulder into his as he laughed, her own smile threatening to split her face, "Hey, I'm a busy single mother! Plus Nathan mostly came over at night but now I realize that Lucas was protecting him from Dan." The smile dimmed as she thought about her ex-boyfriend and how violent he'd become. Making his own son do those things made her sick and she had cried in Keith's arms for a long while after they heard Nathan's side of the story. "I never realized that most of the things Lucas does…he does them for Nathan."

"Yeah, he's like his mother; always doing whatever it takes to help the people he loves," Keith met her eyes and felt a blush creep across her cheeks. Keith's stare was intense and it was giving her butterflies.

He sat his mug down and reached out to push her hair behind her ear gently, "But she needs to realize that there are people who would do anything for her as well."

She gasped as he took her mug and set it next to his on the steps before bringing her body flush against his, lips catching hers in a soft kiss. Her arms immediately went around him and he held her closer. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering madly and she smiled when he nipped at her bottom lip for entry. She granted it and sighed happily when their tongues met, feeling lighter than she had since Mitch died. He pulled back and pressed their foreheads together, "I've wanted to do that for a long time."

She gave him a quick peck and grinned, "I'm glad you finally did."

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><p>Dan's face was blank as he sat in the two-by-four cell in Tree Hill County Jail. He should have known that Keith's coming here would be trouble for him; his brother was no idiot and he knew something was going on in their household. He also should have realized that he wouldn't stop until he knew exactly what it was.<p>

His face twisted into one of fury as he remembered the police coming to his door and cuffing him while they searched his house. He was positive that whatever Nathan told them was what got them to come. That and Deb's little sob story about how he pushed her down the stairs.

Now he was sitting here with his position as mayor being threatened, his family being taken away from him and for what? All because of Keith and that stupid blonde kid who pushed Nathan into telling the truth. He was more than positive that Lucas Roe was the sole reason Nathan told the police about his home life; the brat would do _anything_ for that boy. The thought disgusted him; he always knew there was something between them but he hoped it would pass.

He leaned his head against the cement wall; there was no way they would find _anything_ that shouted 'abuse!' He always cleaned up his messes or he made Nathan do it. He never touched his son sexually so there would be no evidence of that but the bruises…the bruises might be a problem, he thought.

He clenched his fists. They wouldn't find anything and eventually he would be released, just like Nathan had to come home at some point. He would make sure that Deb was sent to rehab for her 'drug addiction' and he would kick Keith out and then it would just be him and Nathan. He smiled wickedly; he was in for hell when he got out of here. But first, he wanted his revenge; revenge on Keith for putting him in here and that Lucas kid for stealing his son away from him. The evil grin never left his face as he begin to carefully plan how he would punish each of them. He would make sure they never crossed Dan Scott again.

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><p><strong>Show this story some lovin and review please!<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**I know it's been so long! I have no excuses for not uploading, especially since I have been doing my other stories, I just had serious writers block with this one because I didn't know where I wanted it to go. The good news? I've got the next chapter written out, and chapter fourteen halfway done :) No more long waits if I can help it, I promise!**

**Thank you thank you THANK YOU to everyone and anyone who has read, reviewed, commented, followed, or favorited this story. If you guys are still reading this, please enjoy and don't forget to review! Very important that you press that button and tell me what you think :) Happy reading! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or it's characters, just this storyline.**

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><p>"Haley, this is the dress; blue is <em>so<em> your color," Brooke said cheerily as she held up the long ball-gown. "Chris won't be able to resist you and I'm sure once he sees you, you're going to spend more time out of the dress than in it."

"Thanks, I guess?" Haley laughed as she held up the gown to see how it would look on her in the mirror. She turned to the boys expectantly, "Well?"

"It looks gorgeous, Hales. Like Cinderella," Lucas smiled at her beaming face. Nathan nodded in agreement, "It looks good Haley."

"You guys aren't just saying that right?" she asked uncertainly.

"Haley, they're guys; they won't lie to you, now go try it on!" she shoved the girl towards the back of the store where the dressing rooms were located. Lucas shook his head; Brooke had insisted they go to Charlotte to by their prom attire so they didn't match with anyone else. He didn't see a way around that for him and Nathan considering every guy wore a tux and there were only so many colors the vests came in.

"I didn't think that finding dresses would take this damn long," Nathan huffed impatiently as he dropped into a chair. Lucas laughed and sat next to him.

"They're girls, shopping for prom. This process takes a while," Lucas chuckled. "At least the dance is tomorrow night and we won't have to worry about it anymore."

"Girls," Nathan shook his head. "Thank God you're not high maintenance."

"You don't know what I have planned for our wedding," Lucas shot back and laughed at the look Nathan gave him. "Kidding; I definitely want simple. Black and white and barely any flowers."

"Sounds like a funeral," Nathan joked. "We can have a little color in there."

"Fine…_you_ can be the bride and wear the white tux with the colored vest."

"I don't think so; we both know you're the bride so I'll leave you to choose what color to wear...or I'll ask Brooke to choose and you know her favorite color."

"God no," Lucas groaned, imagining Brooke dressing him in a bright pink vest. He pouted, "Why do I have to be the bride?"

"Because _I_ popped the question, so you get the honors. You should be happy I'm not making you wear a veil…though I think you'd look hot in one." Nathan chuckled as his fiancé scowled at him.

"Nothing you say or do could make me humiliate myself like that," he said with finality.

"Even if I threatened to withhold sex on our honeymoon?"

"You wouldn't last that long, I'm too irresistible."

"What do you guys think?" Brooke squealed as she pushed Haley out in front of them. The dress was a floor-length, powder blue, strapless gown with glitter that shined like Haley's smile. Brooke stepped behind her and placed the matching blue shawl around her and clipped the white lily pin she was holding on the side of her head. She spun in a slow circle and stopped when she faced them again.

"Beautiful," Lucas said. "Haley you look amazing."

"Thanks Luke!" she beamed, then she bit her lip uncertainly, "You think Chris will like it?"

"He'd be stupid if he didn't," Nathan said smiling at her. "You have nothing to worry about Hales, you look great."

"Thanks Nate," she said softly and went back into the dressing room to change out of it. Brooke had come out as soon as Haley had gone back in modeling a short, strapless, hot-pink dress with rhinestones dotted all over. She threw up her arms and struck a pose, "I know, I look hot, but what do you think?"

"Absolutely hideous," Nathan laughed. "That color should be banned."

Brooke flipped him the bird and turned to Lucas, "Lucas you'll give me the answer I want unless you want me to dress you in pink for your upcoming nuptials."

"You look like a movie star Brooke, flawless," Lucas answered automatically and Brooke beamed at him.

"Too bad your gay Luke, you'd make a great boyfriend."

"He is a great boyfriend, thank you," Nathan smirked and Brooke rolled her eyes before going back into the dressing room.

After another hour of trying on dresses, the girls put the dresses they liked on hold and they walked down the alley full of shops that sold prom and formal attire. They had been there for three hours going on four and they decided to stop at a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant for lunch.

"I seriously didn't think this would take this long," Nathan grumbled as he bit into his burrito. The girls laughed and Lucas shook his head with a smile.

"We told you it's going to be an all-day thing," Broke said as she ate her taco. "It's important to set yourself apart from every other girl at prom."

"And yet someone always buys the same dress as someone else every year," Lucas said with a laugh. "You guys put too much into this. All that money and time could go to something worthwhile, you know."

"Please," Brooke scoffed. "Prom is one of the most important events in a girl's life. There has to be a lot of money and time put into it so you can show your kids you knew how to get down back in your day."

"So what will you tell your kids Brooke? You can't really tell them how you got down," Nathan laughed and the brunette kicked him under the table.

"I'll have to save my stories for when they get older. Hopefully they don't turn out like me."

"You turned out fine Brooke. You're wild, crazy, sweet and really loving. A good friend," Lucas said softly. Brooke blushed but smiled brightly, "Luke you always know what to say to make a girl feel special."

"Hopefully your wedding vows are as good as that," Nathan teased and the girls laughed as Lucas rolled his eyes.

"Would you love me any less if they weren't?"

"I don't know, depends on what you say. If you say something too corny I might have to leave you at the altar."

"You wouldn't dare!" Lucas said, mock scandalized.

"You would never leave Lucas," Haley said laughing. "Even as a joke you wouldn't be able to do it."

Lucas laughed as he watched the girls and Nathan banter, occasionally jumping in to defend his boyfriend but mostly just enjoying this time with people he loved. Peyton's threat of outing him and Nathan to everyone still worried him, mostly because of Dan's reaction, but there was nothing he could really do about it now. All he could do was wait and they would deal with the scrutiny as it came.

* * *

><p>Peyton scowled as her phone indicated she received a text, waking her from her peaceful nap. She looked over and her mood went from bad to worse when she saw it was Brooke stating she was coming over to have Peyton pick dresses for prom. Brooke had been going on and on about prom for a week and a half and it was grating on her nerves; she supposed she'd be more excited if she actually had a date for the dance but since she found out her ex was fucking that cocky asshole behind her back she hadn't been in a partying mode. She felt bad that she had denied Jake; he was a sweet guy and she liked him but she was just too angry and hurt to even <em>think<em> about prom.

What irked her even more was that Brooke hung out with Nathan and Lucas all the time and didn't mention _anything_ to her. It was possible the brunette didn't know but she knew that wasn't true; Brooke knew _everything_ about _everyone_ and Nathan was one of her closest friends, he would have told her at some point. So how could Brooke pretend to be oblivious about their relationship, _knowing_ how Peyton felt about Lucas, and pretend to be looking for the supposed girl that stole Lucas away from her? Peyton shoved her face into her pillow and screamed; she didn't understand when everyone thought it was okay to leave her in the dark and betray her. Did they think she was stupid and she wouldn't figure it out? Did they _really_ think they could keep their secret from her forever? Why would Brooke, her supposed best friend since they were 9-years-old, go along with this scheme?

Another text from Brooke read that she would be on her way in twenty minutes. Peyton hopped out of bed and took a quick shower, towel-drying her hair and throwing it up in a bun. She didn't bother getting dressed up or putting on make-up, she meant business and she wanted Brooke to give her answers. It made her sick thinking she was the fool who was in love with a little gay boy and still pined over him. She scowled; she was going to make them pay and Brooke too.

She heard a car door close and she ran outside, adrenaline pumped through her and the anger flaring all over again. How could Brooke betray her like this? They had been best friends since they were 9-years-old; that should've been an incentive for her to come clean! She had been so supportive of her and Lucas before so it didn't make sense. Peyton gasped as she thought about this; she and Brooke had wanted Lucas and Brooke had been jealous when he chose her over the brunette. Was this relationship her way of getting back at her?

"P. Sawyer, you're going to die when you see my dress! I got you one I thought you might like!" Brooke said cheerily as she got out of the car, not noticing the sour look on Peyton's face. "You have to try it on it's so cu—!"

Brooke was abruptly cut off by a hard slap to her face. She blinked in shock as she looked at the furious face of her best friend. "What the hell was that?"

"How could you, of all people, not tell me that Lucas and Nathan were seeing each other!" she screeched in pure fury. "You let me go on a wild goose chase thinking there was another girl and this whole time he's been fucking his best friend!"

Brooke clenched her jaw momentarily before speaking as calmly as possible, "Because I couldn't say anything! It was their business to tell, not mine."

"I'M YOUR BEST FRIEND! WE'VE BEEN THERE FOR EACH OTHER THROUGH EVERYTHING! HOW CIULD YOU CHOOSE THEM OVER ME?"

"I know Peyton and I'm sorry!" Brooke screamed back. "I'm really fucking sorry! I wanted to tell you; I swear I did, but Nathan—"

"I don't give a fuck about what Nathan wanted! I deserved answers and no one gave them to me! I had to find out from walking in on them accidentally at YOUR party that Lucas was CHEATING on me with that jerk! Please tell me you didn't know about that?" she pleaded. Brooke looked down guiltily and Peyton felt her heart shatter.

"How could you do this to me? Is this your way of getting back at me because Lucas didn't want you?" the blonde spat angrily. "Just because one boy happened to find me interesting you had to be the attention-seeking whore you are and try and get him to notice you over me!"

"Well he obviously didn't want you either!" Brook snapped back. "Your brooding music and your depressing sketches weren't good enough for him and I _never_ stole Lucas away from you, Nathan did! Don't blame this on me, it's _your_ fault for driving him away!"

Peyton screamed before lunging for Brooke, tackling her to the ground and hitting any part of her she could. Brooke fought back, hitting, punching and screaming as the two rolled over in the grass fighting for dominance. Peyton delivered a few good punches to Brooke's face and ribs while Brooke succeeded in pulling out some of Peyton's curly, blonde hair. Brooke finally gained the upper hand and was able to roll them over, slapping and hitting any part of Peyton she could reach until she grew tired. Peyton had long since given up fighting and was laying in the grass breathing harshly when Brooke jumped off of her and grabbed the two fallen dresses that were forgotten in the scuffle.

"I'm taking my dress back you ungrateful crazy bitch!" she snapped. "I don't blame Lucas for choosing Nathan, he's not a psycho! You are obsessed with Lucas and this whole time he's moved on with someone he truly loves. Maybe you should follow in his footsteps because he doesn't want you! He never has and he never will, get over it!" She stormed to her bug and threw the dresses in the front seat before stalking to the driver's side and driving away speedily, the tires screeching down the road. Peyton still hadn't moved from the lawn, tears streaming down her face. She knew Lucas didn't want her and that hurt; hearing the truth so blatantly hurt even more.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you released him?" Keith roared at the station, turning more than a few heads in his direction. "You can't release him! He's a danger to everyone in that house!"<p>

"We understand that Mr. Scott but it's been more than 72 hours since we held him and we haven't found any incriminating evidence. We'll keep searching but we're not finding anything," Officer Wilcox said as gently as he could. He _knew_ without a doubt that something was going on in that house; Nathan Scott wouldn't make up all those horrible things that had happened to him and the expressions of everyone in the room when he said them out loud were more than enough proof for him to believe something wasn't right. But Dan Scott cleaned up well; they had searched the house and his office at the city hall for three days and they hadn't found a single clue.

Keith ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and he growled in annoyance; this wasn't going the way he had planned and now that Dan was back home…

"Nathan can't go back there. He told you guys what happened to him and Dan knows it. Nathan will be in a world of hell if you make him go back."

"Nathan can stay with the Roe's if that's alright with them," Officer Wilcox said and leaned in closer to Keith, lowering his voice. "I believe you when you say something is wrong, I really do, but we can't find anything that indicates that Dan is hurting anyone. We'll keep searching but if we don't find anything we're going to have to drop the charges."

Keith sighed and nodded; there was nothing he could do about it now, it was out of his hands. He could only imagine the fury of his brother when he saw him and realized that he was the one who made Nathan tell the police. His heart nearly stopped as he thought about Dan stopping by the Roe's house and paying them a visit; he probably knew Nathan would be there.

"We've ordered Dan to stay away from Nathan and the Roe's for now. If he doesn't we'll arrest him. For now you should just go home and try not to worry about this, we're doing everything we can and if he's guilty, something will come up." The phone rang and the officer immediately answered, ending the discussion of Dan. Keith sighed and resisted the urge to throw something; how the hell was he going to tell Nathan and Karen and Lucas that Dan was back home? He walked outside and sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

"Karen? Bad news…Dan's been let out and he's at home."

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"…_and we have just learned that Mayor Dan Scott has been released from custody after police couldn't find sufficient evidence of domestic abuse. The mayor was charged with domestic abuse and attempted murder of his son, Nathan Scott and his wife Deborah who was hospitalized after falling down the stairs weeks ago. We will be continue to follow this story—"_

Karen shut the television off and put her head in her hands. "I don't believe this," she muttered. "He's just starting to feel safe and he looks so much calmer…how could they release him?"

"Dan cleans up really well," Keith sighed. "Should we tell them?"

"No. Tonight is a big night for them and I don't want them to worry about Dan. Let them enjoy this weekend and then we'll tell them." She sighed, "Hopefully they didn't watch the news."

"But they should be on the look-out…" Keith trailed off as Nathan and Lucas walked through the door. "Hey guys, your cuts look good."

"Oh my gosh, you really think so?" Nathan said in a high-pitched voice as he batted his eyelashes over-exaggeratedly. The adults laughed and Lucas rolled his eyes.

"So tonight's the night, huh?" Keith asked with a grin. He watched both of their faces light up and he smiled warmly.

"Yeah. Tonight everyone's going to find out," Lucas said, sounding nervous and excited all at once. Nathan smiled at him and took his hand.

"I can't wait for them to know. Now all those girls can stop hitting on you," he chuckled. "I can't wait to see the looks on everyone's faces."

"Are you guys sure you want to do this? This is a big step," Karen asked with a hint of worry in her voice. She was all for Nathan and Lucas coming out to the school, she just didn't want anything bad to come of it.

"We can handle it. Most of the basketball team has our back and we have Brooke and Haley. We'll be okay Mom," Lucas said gently as he hugged her. "You don't have anything to worry about."

"Alright, I believe you Luke," she smiled briefly at both boys before becoming serious. "Now I know prom is a huge night for you teens but don't do anything stupid. No drinking and driving and if you're going to drink please, _please_ don't overdo it. I know teens like to binge drink and then they land in the hospital because they have to get their stomachs pumped and that's the last thing we need right now—"

"Mom, relax!" Lucas laughed. "No one is going to overdo anything!"

"So you don't deny that you're going to a party where there's alcohol?" she asked with narrowed eyes. Nathan looked down and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Brooke's throwing a party at her house later. We can stay there if we're too drunk to drive back."

"Fine," she sighed. "At least I don't have to worry about you getting pregnant…but you need to use condoms!"

"Mom!" Lucas screeched, his face turning bright red. Nathan coughed and looked down, looking both uncomfortable and amused. Keith laughed and clapped both boys on the back.

"She's right, you need to stay safe and with alcohol and drugs in the mix…just be careful."

"Um…we need to go get ready…" Lucas took Nathan's arm and hurried off to his room, ignoring Keith's laughter.

* * *

><p>A couple hours later found Lucas and Nathan riding with their friends in a larger-than-life party bus; the music was blaring and voices were loud and talking over one another excitedly. Girls were dancing for their dates using the stripper poles and the guys gave cat-calls and howls as they watched. Brooke, of course, was the life of the party and had the attention of most of the males around her. When she was done she sat on both Nathan and Lucas and giggled.<p>

"You guys are coming to my party later, right? You have to help me celebrate being prom queen!"

"You don't even know if you are yet!" Lucas laughed. "Who's been nominated for king?"

"You mean you don't know?" she gasped as if she'd just heard disturbing news. "Both of you have been nominated, Jake, Skillz and Brandon Jenson."

"Really?" Nathan raised an eyebrow; this was news to both him and Lucas. "Well may the best guy win," he grinned at Lucas who smiled back.

"We both know it'll be me," Lucas said with a joking laugh. Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Yeah right, you're too pretty to be king."

"You two are ridiculous," Brooke laughed and then she leaned in closer, "I'm going to need a lot more alcohol though. Almost everyone is coming over afterwards and I definitely don't have enough!"

"There's some left over from your party at the beach house, we'll run up there after the dance and get it," Nathan said nonchalantly. "Don't worry Brooke; your party will be a success."

She squealed and threw her arms around both of them. "Thank you! I knew I could count on you guys!"

"Of course," they laughed. The bus came to a stop and people began cheering excitedly. Brooke got up and found her date, Chase, and led the group off the bus.

The dance was in full swing when they walked into the hall; it was being held at a hotel in downtown Tree Hill and was decorated as Paris under the stars. Silver and gold stars hung from the ceiling, a huge gold star with a cut-out of the Eiffel Tower next to it for portraits, a huge section of the wooden floor was cleared just for dancing with the DJ's booth sitting on a platform and tables were scattered around the place covered with silver and gold table cloths and Eiffel Tower and hearts with "Paris" printed in the middle with large purple writing as centerpieces. Brooke, being President and head of the Dance committee, had truly outdone herself and everyone told her as such, making her beam with pride.

"Can you believe this is our last prom?" Haley said in awe and a little sadness. "I don't want it to end!"

"We haven't started yet Hales!" Nathan laughed. "Don't think about it being the end, just have a good time."

"I plan too," she said as she smiled at Chris who was talking to his friends. She turned back to them, "How are you guys going to come out to everyone?"

"Well if they didn't figure it out when we didn't show up with dates then I guess I'll just have to take Lucas out on the dance floor and show everyone there," Nathan said, half-jokingly. He was serious about dancing with Lucas; he didn't pay for prom to not dance with his fiancé.

"They won't be able to ignore it then," Lucas laughed, his heart pounding at the thought of dancing with Nathan in front of everyone. He was excited but he was also scared; what if people reacted negatively towards them? Haley must have seen the look on his face because she squeezed his arm gently. "It'll be fine Luke. You have a ton of people supporting you guys and Skillz and Mouth have said they would deal with the people who have a problem."

Lucas smiled at the thought of his friends, "I know, it's just scary. But I'm ready for people to know."

"What are you guys doing? Get your asses out there and dance!" Brooke cried as she ran to them, Chase following her closely. "I did not go through all this trouble of planning this dance so you would stand around!"

Everyone laughed. "Alright Brooke, we're going!" Haley exclaimed as she found Chris and he led her to the dance floor. Brooke looked hard at Nathan and Lucas, "You too! I better see you two out there sometime tonight!"

"You will, just not right now," Nathan said as he grabbed Lucas' arm and they made their way to the refreshments. He knew he and Lucas needed to prepare themselves for what they were about to do. They each got a glass of punch before finding a table and sitting down quietly, watching their fellow students dancing and having a good time. Lucas wished he wasn't feeling so nervous; he looked at Nathan and he could tell he felt the same way.

"I'm not ashamed," Lucas said and Nathan's head snapped to him quickly. "I'm just terrified that this won't turn out the way we wanted it to."

"I know," Nathan said as he leaned his head in closer. "I'm scared too. But we only have a few more weeks and then we'll graduate and get out of here. What people say tonight won't matter. We'll be away from them and from my dad, that's all that matters."

"You're right," Lucas sighed as he placed his hand on Nathan's knee under the table. "I know that it won't matter. I just don't want either of us to get hurt."

"Me either, especially you," Nathan muttered. He was tired of hiding his relationship but he didn't want any trouble because they decided to come out. He looked out on the dance floor again; he'd been worried since Peyton had walked in on them that she would make good on her threat and out them but so far, no one had looked at them differently. He looked around again, realizing that the curly-haired blonde wasn't anywhere in sight. It relieved him to know that they wouldn't have to deal with Peyton on top of the pressure of coming out.

A few more fast songs passed before the first slow song of the night started. Nathan pressed his lips together; now would be as good a time as any. Before he could ask Lucas, Haley, Brooke, and their dates came and sat at the table with them, along with Skillz and Mouth.

"You did a good job Brooke!" Skillz called. "This looks real nice."

"Thanks Skillz," Brooke beamed. "If you think this is good just wait until my after party."

"Brooke Davis, the ultimate party girl," Skillz laughed shaking his head. Haley, who had sat by Nathan, joined in before turning to the brunette. "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Nathan's voice came out strained. His heart was thudding in his chest as if Dan was going to come in and beat him for what he was about to do. He stood shakily and turned to Lucas holding out his hand, "Dance with me."

Lucas could feel everyone's eyes at the table turn on him but he ignored them. He locked his eyes on Nathan's dark blue ones and placed his hand in his without hesitation, "I'd love too."

Nathan gripped his hand tightly as they walked to the dance floor; Lucas felt like he was floating, the moment seemed so surreal. He looked back at the table and saw Brooke and Haley beaming at them, encouraging them with their smiles. Lucas smiled back nervously before he turned to Nathan and put his hands around his neck, bringing him closer. It was suddenly hotter in the building as they swayed together, Nathan biting his lip as he kept his eyes only on Lucas. From the corner of his eye, Lucas saw people turn to look at them but he couldn't see the expressions on their faces. He decided he didn't want to and he kept his eyes only on Nathan's as the song played on.

"You okay baby?" Nathan asked quietly. Lucas nodded.

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm scared," Nathan admitted softly, doing his best to ignore the people who all stopped dancing just to watch them. "But I want people to know about us. I'm tired of hiding what we have."

"I know, I am too," Lucas sighed and they pressed their foreheads together. He made the mistake of looking past Nathan and at the shocked faces of his peers. He frowned slightly, "Everyone seems so shocked. I thought…Peyton said she was going to tell everyone."

"Maybe she didn't," Nathan suggested quietly. "Maybe she had a change of heart."

"You didn't see her face, Nate. She wanted to make us suffer."

"She's also in love with you," Nathan murmured. "No matter how much she wants to hate you, she can't. She's always going to have that one hope that you could love her back."

"I feel bad that I can't," Lucas said as he looked straight into Nathan's eyes. "No one's ever going to have my heart but you."

The words made Nathan's heart soar and, forgetting that they were in the middle of the dance floor at their senior prom, he kissed Lucas with so much emotion that it nearly made the blonde cry. Gasps and murmurs could be heard throughout the crowd as everyone stopped to watch them, some in total shock, some in wonder and curiosity and some in disgust. Nathan's heart pounded when he pulled back; the music seemed to have gotten quieter as the whispers got louder and the stares of the others were burning into his back. He whimpered involuntarily and Lucas put a hand on his face to comfort him.

Suddenly there was clapping, which caused the music to stop. Nathan and Lucas turned simultaneously both of their eyes went as wide as saucers as Peyton stood next to Jake in the front of the circle in a white vintage dress, her blonde, usually curly hair sleek and straightened, staring right at them, clapping with a small smile on her face. Jake joined in, his smile indicating his support. More clapping sounded from their other side; Brooke, Haley, Skillz, Mouth, Chase, and Chris were watching them with prideful smiles as they applauded. More clapping from the back of the circle started and soon everyone was cheering and giving cat-calls for the two boys in the middle of the dance floor in each other's arms. Nathan and Lucas looked around in complete surprise as people smiled, applauded, cheered for them; this was more than they ever expected. Lucas laughed and Nathan grinned as he kissed Lucas again, the cheers turning into screams and the applause getting louder. Nathan couldn't ever remember, even during a basketball game, when he'd felt so lighthearted and happy.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

"We had _no_ idea you two were together!"

"You two are so cute!"

"Atta' boy, Nate!"

"You guys are seriously adorable!"

"Nice job, Lucas!"

"Thank you," Lucas said softly with a smile as yet another group of people came to congratulate him and Nathan on their relationship and coming out. The support they had received was nearly overwhelming as people surrounded them, wanting desperately to know how two seeming straight guys who dated the hottest girls at school wound up falling for each other. Girls giggled and sighed as they speculated, comparing their relationship to that of _Romeo_ _and_ _Juliette_. Lucas had laughed while Nathan rolled his eyes but he was happy most people weren't giving them hell.

"Nathan Scott! I didn't think you were a faggot!" a voice called and Nathan tensed visibly. Lucas put an arm on his comfortingly as they turned around and faced Brandon and his crew of hockey players. He looked at Lucas in disgust, "I had my suspicions about you, you look like you like having cock up your ass."

"Watch your fucking mouth," Nathan snarled, his hand curling into a fist.

"Brandon, dawg, that's not cool," Skillz said as everyone at the table stood up, ready to defend their friends if needed.

"Oh sorry, I didn't know you guys were all part of the gay pride parade," Brandon sneered. "You guys should have just stayed in the closet, we didn't need to see that disgusting display you put on in front of everyone. But I guess gay fairy queens like you like all that attention, don't you?"

If Lucas wasn't holding Nathan back, he would have lunged for Brandon. Before the smarmy hockey player could say another word a new voice cut in.

"Go fuck yourself Brandon. You're jealous because all that attention wasn't on you," Nathan and Lucas were once again shocked when Peyton stood in front of them with Jake by her side, her mouth twisted into a deep frown. "No one asked you for your comments so get the fuck out of here."

"At least I wasn't the one fucking a fag," Brandon grinned at her. "I bet you really feel like shit that he broke up with you for a dude."

"I'm just fine, thanks," Peyton snapped. "Now take your idiots and go somewhere else where no one has to look at you."

"I know I could make you feel better; I bet I could do you better than that little bitch did," he leered at her. Peyton's eyebrow twitched and before Jake could stop her she punched Brandon in the nose. He cried out in shock and surprise, blood gushing out and getting onto his white shirt, his friend gathering around him to see the damage.

"What the fuck you crazy bitch!" he cried.

"Move on!" Brooke shouted as she came and shoved Brandon hard for good measure. "Unless you all want your fucking noses broken!"

Brandon glared at them before stalking out of the hall. Brooke and Peyton turned to each other and stared for a moment before embracing.

"I'm glad you came," the brunette whispered. Peyton smiled, "Me too." In that moment, she knew that all was forgiven and everything between them would be fine.

They let go of each other and the blonde turned to Lucas and Nathan who were still staring in shock. After another moment, Lucas started laughing and the other two joined in.

"Where the hell did you learn to hit like that?" he asked Peyton through chuckles. She smiled sheepishly.

"When you deal with bullies a lot, it comes in handy to know how to use your fist the right way."

"His face was priceless," Nathan chuckled. "That was some hit, Sawyer."

Peyton smiled, actually smiled that the brunette, "Thanks, Nathan." She bit her lip and looked down before looking at them again. "I'm sorry for everything I said to you Luke. I was really angry and upset but that doesn't excuse what I said about you or Nathan. I was…I _am_ hurt by what you did but I can see that you guys really belong together. I guess it's always been there, I was just too blind to see it," she laughed shaking her head. "I support you guys in this; you guys don't have to worry about me trying to come between you at all. And if people have something to say about it, I'll set them straight."

Nathan chuckled and Lucas smiled warmly, pulling the blonde into a hug, "Thanks Peyton, that really means a lot," he pulled back and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry that things ended the way they did between us and how I treated you but I would really like it if we—if the three of us—could be friends."

"Yeah, I think we can work something out," she said teasingly as she looked at Nathan with a hint of a question. Nathan smiled and he pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, I think we can make it work."

"So you and Jake, huh?" Lucas asked teasingly. "Didn't see that coming."

"Of course you wouldn't," Peyton laughed. "He's a good guy and Brooke told me I should give him a chance. I'm glad I did."

"Alright, alright everyone, it's time to crown this year's prom king and queen!" the announcer called. Everyone cheered and rushed to the center of the floor, anticipating the moment everyone had been talking about for months. Brooke was hurriedly re-applying lip gloss and mascara, Peyton fixing her fly-a-ways.

"Well this has been an exciting night, hasn't it guys?" he said and everyone laughed. "Let's give another big round of applause to Lucas and Nathan! You guys are awesome!" the students cheered and the boys blushed, smiling at everyone.

"Now, it's the moment you've all been waiting for for months! Drumroll please!" he called and on cue, the drumroll started. "All night tonight you guys voted and the results are in! And this year's prom king is…" he pulled out a piece of paper, pausing for effect. "Nathan Scott!"

The applause was thunderous as Nathan smiled and walked up to the stage to be crowned. Lucas grinned at his boyfriend who was loved by so many and couldn't help but be proud of him.

"And your prom queen is…" another pause, longer than the last sounded and people screamed and called out names. "Brooke Davis!"

Another thunderous applause sounded as Brooke ran on stage, blowing kisses to everyone as she took her place by Nathan on the stage. The tiara fit perfectly on her head as she beamed at her fellow peers.

"Do you think she chose the tiara herself?" Haley asked Lucas over the noise.

"Probably. It fits her _too _perfectly."

Brooke had leaned over and whispered something to the announcer, his face turning surprised for a moment before he grinned again and nodded. "Well it seems our resident queen wants to give away her dance with Nathan to his fiancé, Lucas Roe! Let's give them another round of applause and congratulations on your upcoming nuptials!"

Lucas didn't think it was possible for people to cheer louder than they already were but the crowd was in near hysterics as Nathan looked at Brooke in shock before giving her a hug. He descended the stairs to where the crowded had gathered in a big circle, leaving Lucas standing in the middle alone with the spotlight shining on him. Nathan smiled softly at him as he took wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist and his arms automatically went around Nathan's neck for the second time that night. The noise died down as everyone watched the two dance, able to see how much it meant to them that they got to do this without issue. They leaned in at the same time and their lips met in a kiss that was so sweet and loving the crowd starting cheering all over again. Nathan pulled back but kept his forehead against Lucas' barely believing how the night had worked out for both of them. Their secret was finally out and they didn't have to hide anymore.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! I got some good ones and they made me happy :) I am happy to say that this didn't take as long as I expected to to write out. **

**WARNING: I must warn everyone that while last chapter was very happy, this chapter is the complete opposite. There is extreme, intense violence, OOC-ness and attempted rape. If any of this makes you squemish or you just don't like to read it, you can skip down to the last couple paragraphs, or wait for the next chapter since the events of this chapter will be talked about with much less detail. Sound good? If you do read it, PLEASE REVIEW! Let me know what you think. Also keep in mind that while this chapter is not happy, the overall ending will be a happy one. Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill :(**

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><p>The boys laughed as they stumbled across the lawn to the front door of the beach house not being able to keep their hands to themselves, their smiles and laughter feeding off each other. Lucas pulled Nathan against him and kissed him soundly; no words could describe how blissfully happy he was now that they were now in the open. Now everyone knew that he was taken by the Nathan Scott and that he was going to marry him; the thought of him and Nathan married, <em>really married<em>, made him giddy with glee all over again and he smiled against the basketball star's lips as he was pushed against the door, laughing when Nathan couldn't find the handle.

"Let—let me do it babe, you're obviously having trouble," Lucas laughed as he turned around and turned the handle, his smile threatening to split his face when Nathan's arms wrapped around his waist and his mouth started nibbling his ear. "Mmm Nate we shouldn't be doing this out here," he ended in a gasp as a hot tongue flicked out and traced his ear teasingly before moving south.

"No one's watching," he murmured, placing hot kisses down the blonde's neck, making him shiver. He cupped the front of him and grinned, "What do we have here?" he squeezed teasingly and Lucas let out a light moan and pressed his head against the door before wrenching it open and quickly pulling his boyfriend inside before closing and locking it. He was pressed against the wall as Nathan attacked his lips with his, hands roaming everywhere and breaths coming out in heavy pants as they tried to rid each other of their clothes as fast as they could. Lucas managed to unbutton Nathans shirt before unzipping his pants and shoving his hand inside, grabbing his throbbing erection firmly. Nathan let out a groan against Lucas' neck and he knew that if he didn't get the blonde to their bedroom now this would be over before it even started.

"Let's take this upstairs," he whispered hotly in Lucas' ear and the blonde moaned clutching the back of Nathan's neck and guiding his lips to meet his again in a heated kiss, his hand still steadily stroking the brunette and Nathan braced one hand against the wall, the other going for the blonde's pants thrusting into his hand, breathing hard—

And then the lights were abruptly turned on.

Nathan jumped a mile from Lucas and struggled to straighten himself out while Lucas looked around slightly dazed and confused. He blinked as his eyes adjusted to the light and he was about to ask who the hell turned the lights on before a voice spoke, "I should have known that there was more to this relationship than what was on the surface."

Lucas felt terror like no other grip at his heart and chills run down his spine and he glanced at Nathan quickly, who had a look of shock and horror on his face as he buttoned his shirt with trembling fingers, before turning to the living room where Dan Scott was standing by the light switch, his face holding barely restrained fury. How had they not seen another car parked in the driveway? He continued speaking, "I should have tried harder to keep you two apart, then you wouldn't be doing…this." He turned to Lucas and didn't bother hiding the anger anymore, "You corrupted my son; trying to sabotage his chances of getting into Duke on a basketball scholarship because you aren't good enough for one! That's why you had him tell the police all those lies about me isn't it? All you want is to ruin his life you little _slut_!" The man spat with such hatred it made Lucas jump. "You're just like your mother; a good-for-nothing whore just using who you want to get what you want and then you'll leave him!"

"Don't talk about my mother asshole!" Lucas shouted before he could stop himself. "You're the one who cheated on her, you're the one who _hurt_ her and now you're upset that your brother is the one making her happy!"

"My brother," Dan snarled, "can never be the man I am. I am, and always will be, a better man than Keith. Your mother will realize that soon and she will wish she never left me." He turned his attention to Nathan and the boy immediately shrunk back a little in fear. "After everything I have done for you, after everything I have given you over the years, _this_ is how you repay me? By turning into a faggot and telling people I touch you inappropriately? How could you do that to your own father Nathan? All I want is for you to be happy!"

"Happy?" Nathan asked incredulously, disbelief apparent on his face. "How could I have been happy when you were beating on me every time I walked through the door? How could I have been happy when every time I was home you turned me into a human punching bag? You controlled me for years with your violence and mom with drugs but that's not going to work anymore dad. What you did to me and mom was wrong and now…now you have to pay for it."

Dan stared at Nathan like he had never seen him before, everything his son said seeming to sink into him; the expression left just as quickly and fury like no other took its place, his face turning red from anger and before either teen knew what was happening, Dan had whipped out his gun and had it pointed at Lucas. He stared at Dan in horror as he pointed the gun straight at his head. He heard Nathan gasp but his eyes couldn't move away from the black weapon in Dan's hand.

"This is your fault! If it wasn't for you my son would still be normal and my life wouldn't be ruined! I worked like _hell_ for everything I have and I'm not going to let some whore take my family and my career away from me!" he cocked the gun and held it steady.

Nathan snapped into action and snatched Lucas away from the wall, placing him behind his slightly bigger, shaking frame, the fear obvious in his eyes as he stared down the barrel of the gun that had followed his fiancé.

Dan growled, "Move, Nathan."  
>Nathan shook his head slowly, wide eyes still trained on the gun, "No, I won't let you hurt him."<p>

Dan laughed harshly, "Trying to be brave now boy? You'd risk your life for this brat when you can easily find a replacement?"

"I love him. I love him and I am not going to let you hurt another person I love," Nathan said with more confidence this time. "You may have gotten away with hurting me and mom for years but I _won't_ let someone else suffer because of you." He felt Lucas' hands grab his and squeeze them tightly as he slowly began walking backwards towards the door.

"Then you don't have to," Dan spat and before Nathan could register what he meant, Dan lunged for them, knocking both boys down, the gun flying into the wall. Nathan grabbed his father by the shoulders and wrestled with him for a moment or two before gaining the upper hand and shoving him off forcefully before quickly getting to his feet and pulling Lucas up and running towards the stairs. He was abruptly yanked backwards when Lucas cried out in surprise and fell, Dan catching his leg and tripping him. The look in Dan's eyes scared Nathan more than ever and he knew they had to get away before he seriously hurt them or worse.

Lucas kicked his foot hard catching Dan in the face and making him yell out in pain; the deranged man let go of his foot and the two ran upstairs into the first room shutting the door and locking it. Lucas looked around the room—the study—and ran to the window where Nathan was looking out; it was too far for them to jump unless they wanted broken legs but considering who was downstairs, Nathan felt he would rather deal with broken bones.

"Phone," he said aloud and immediately found the house phone, picking it up and his eyes widened in panic when no dial tone sounded. He pressed buttons frantically but the phone didn't come to life. "That bastard, he cut the line!"

Lucas stared at his panicking fiancé and took a deep breath; right now, they could not afford to panic. There was an insane madman downstairs intent on killing at least one of them and they needed to think rationally of a way to save themselves.

"Nathan we can't freak out okay? Where's your cell?"

"In the car, yours?"

"Same…shit!" he swore softly and sat in the chair. "We need to get to the car, you still have the keys right?"

Nathan patted his pocket, signaling the jingling of the keys, "How are we gonna get down there? We can't jump from here."

"Then we'll have—" he was interrupted by loud, forceful banging on the door and his eyes shot to Nathan's in terror.

"I know you're in there you little shits! Get your asses out here NOW!" yelled Dan murderously. "Nathan you better get the fuck out here or I swear you'll regret it!"

Nathan stared at the door, his shaking hand seeking out Lucas' and he grabbed it tightly. He'd never been this terrified of his father; while he didn't think his father wouldn't kill him, he knew that he would have no problem killing Lucas. His lover squeezed his hand tightly and stood, pressed his forehead to his whispering comforting words. "It's gonna be okay baby. I'm not gonna let him hurt you again, I promise."

"It's _you_ he wants to kill," the brunette whispered frantically, "if I distract him, you can get to the car and call the police. I think I'll be able to give you enough time."

"Are you insane? The man has a gun; he'll shoot you in a heartbeat!" the blonde boy grabbed his boyfriend's face in his hands, "I'm not leaving you Nathan. If Dan wants you, he has to get me first."

In response to Lucas' statement, the door clicked and swung open, hitting the wall so hard it bounced off and made both boys jump. Dan was smiling maliciously holding keys in one hand and the gun in the other. Lucas immediately jumped in front of Nathan like a shield, "You're not touching him Dan."

Dan's cold and maniacal laugh made shivers run down both their spines, his face reddened from Lucas' shoe. "Nathan will get what's coming to him; you should worry about yourself Lucas."

"Dad please don't hurt him!" the younger boy said desperately. "Please, I'll do anything you want just don't hurt him!"

"Nathan no!" Lucas hissed.

Dan smiled maliciously at them before bringing the gun to point at them again, "You're willing to risk yourself to save this boy…how pathetic. I'll deal with you later but now I need to get rid of these bad influences you've been hanging around." He cocked the gun, "Goodbye Lucas." He fired the gun.

Nathan threw Lucas quicker than he could blink and they fell to the side behind the desk as the bullet sailed through the air and hit the bookshelf they were standing in front of causing books to fall to the floor around them. Lucas gritted his teeth as his head throbbed where he had hit it against the leg of the chair.

He had no time to catch his breath as Dan had come around the corner prepared to fire yet again. Nathan kicked his father hard in the knee and the man cried out shocked and in pain. Lucas hopped up and immediately tackled Dan, trying to wrestling the gun out of his grasp; the gun fired once more, making a hole in the ceiling. He kneed the man in the stomach and managed to hit the gun slightly away from him before Dan over powered him and brought an elbow to the back of his neck. He fell to the floor and a foot immediately connected with his stomach. Dan cried out when a hardcover book was thrown at his face and he snarled at Nathan as he continued to throw things at him to distract him from his boyfriend. He continued to kicked Lucas in the ribs hard until the boy cried out when he felt his ribs crack and shift; he tried to grab at Dan's pants to hinder him from going to Nathan but Dan shook him off easily and continued towards Nathan, who had run out of things to throw and only had his hands to defend Dan's attack.

He was punched in the jaw in the same place where his bruise was healing and his head snapped to the side, enough of a distraction for Dan to grab his shoulder and pulled him down to knee him in the stomach twice, causing him to drop to his knees, and he caught the man off guard with an elbow in his side. Dan grunted in pain and swayed to the side slightly before growling and bringing a knee to Nathan's face, effectively breaking his nose. He dropped to the ground limply, blood gushing out heavily and he could barely breathe as his father yanked him up by his hair again and slammed his head into the bookcase. Suddenly he yelled out as he stumbled backwards, Lucas on his back and grabbing him in a chokehold. He hit the window in an attempt to throw him of but Lucas held steady despite his broken ribs. Dan let out a scream of frustration and stumbled to the wall, throwing his back against it making Lucas lose his breath but not enough to let go. Dan repeated this over and over until Lucas' grip had loosened enough for him to grab the boy and flip him over his head and on to his back. He quickly grabbed him by his shirt, marched to the stairs and tossed Lucas like a rag doll. He groaned when he landed on his ribs hard and had no time to recover before Dan was running down the stairs and picking him up again, this time throwing him into the glass coffee table. He winced as he felt little shards of glass cut him and his neck hit the wooden frame, the adrenaline in his body starting to fade and overwhelming pain taking place. Dan made to advance again when his name was called and turned to see Nathan holding the gun and pointing it at him.

Dan laughed loudly while sneering at Nathan, "You wouldn't shoot me boy, you don't have the balls."

"No? You wanna dest dat?" Nathan snapped, the gushing blood from his broken nose making his words come out somewhat muffled and unclear. "Leabe him alone and you won't habe to die."

"You think you're in charge now Nathan? Because you're holding the gun you think you can run things?" Dan taunted him. "Go ahead, shoot me."

Nathan gritted his teeth, the gun wavering in his hand. Dan _knew_ he wouldn't have the courage to kill anyone; even though killing Dan would have been in self-defense he couldn't bring himself to kill his own father. Dan's malicious laughter rang in his ears and he felt his stomach roll and he took a step back.

"What's the matter Nathan? Can't handle the power?" Dan continued taunting, advancing on his son, "You're a pathetic excuse of a man! I knew that boy had made you soft but you don't even have the willpower to shoot me! You hate me so much yet you can't rid yourself of me!"

Nathan squeezed his eyes shut, pulled the trigger…and nothing happened.

He pulled harder this time and still nothing came from the gun, his eyes growing wide with panic as he kept pulling with no results; either the gun was jammed or there were no more bullets.

Dan smiled viciously and charged after Nathan. The boy threw the gun at him, slowing him down slightly as it hit the red imprint on his forehead, and ran back upstairs but Dan caught up to him just as he reached the office and shoved him inside, throwing the door shut behind him and trapping him in the room with his terrified son.

**Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo**

"He's not here," Keith frowned as he searched the house top to bottom for his brother. He wanted to make sure Dan stayed away from his boys tonight; he wouldn't let the crazed man ruin this for them. "That bastard was supposed to stay in the house until the investigation was over!"

Karen frowned when her call to her son's cellphone went straight to voicemail for the fifth time. "He's not picking up, Keith. Did you try Nathan?"

"Yeah, three times already and it's all voicemail," Keith put an arm around her in an one-armed hug. "Don't worry I'm sure they're fine. Maybe try the girls?"

"Alright," she muttered as she dialed Brooke's number. The girl picked up on the second ring, "Mrs. Roe! How are you?"

"Hey Brooke," she laughed at the girls cheery attitude. "Are Luke and Nate with you?"

"No, they ran up to the beach house to get some things. Why, is everything okay?" Brooke asked in concern. Karen was about to answer when Keith called her.

"The keys to the beach house aren't here!"

Karen went cold, "What?"

"He's at the beach house," Keith said as he ran back into the room. "He had to have known that Lucas and Nathan would be going there."

"Mrs. Roe?" Brooke asked uncertainly.

"Brooke, call the police!" Karen cried. "Send them to the beach house!" she hung up and ran to the car, Keith already pulling out of the driveway before she even closed the door. She prayed that nothing bad had happened to them.

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

Lucas laid in the mess of wood and glass that was once the coffee table, unable to do anything but stare up at the lights on the ceiling; God only knew what was happening to Nathan at this point and he was scared of what he would find if he were able to go look. He whimpered as he shifted, trying to sit up, but his ribs protested and he laid back down, eyes blurred with sweat, tears, and blood. Another crash sounded from upstairs and more tears fell down Lucas' face as he imagined that this was what a typical night in the Scott home looked like when Nathan was there. He couldn't just lay here while the love of his life was taking hit after hit, he had to do _something._ As carefully as he could he sat up, teeth gritting through the pain of his broken ribs and glass in his back, taking gulping breaths when he sat up all the way. He maneuvered himself, very carefully, out of the wooden frame and rolled over onto his torn up hands and knees and was about to attempt standing up when the sound of footsteps and something dragging alerted him. The footsteps came down the stairs heavily eventually reaching the bottom and they walked heavily towards him. Lucas could make out black shoes and a large hand dragging something before something—someone—was tossed a few feet from him and he gasped as he saw a thoroughly beaten Nathan.

"Nate?" Lucas croaked and he gingerly crawled over to him, heart thumping fast as he settled next to him and brought a scratched hand to lightly caress the pale and bloody face of the boy he loved, his tears rolled onto Nathan's face as he pressed his forehead to the unconscious brunette's, wincing at the sight of his swollen nose, blood caked around his upper lip, temple and his chin, and darkened skin around his eyes. "Wake up baby," he whispered in a hitched voice, "wake up Nate. C'mon baby, get up for me."

"Don't waste your breath," Dan said coldly from behind Lucas. The blonde jumped and whipped his head around to stare at the crazed man with gashes and cuts on his face and hands and his clothes were ripped in places from Nathan's attempt at fighting back. His baby-blue eyes went wide with fear; now there was no one to stop Dan from killing him.

"Look what you've done Lucas," he said dangerously and Lucas shivered at his tone. "If it weren't for you Nathan would be fine, but now look at him."

Lucas stared at the man who had put him and his boyfriend through so much pain and he briefly wondered if Dan was Nathan's real father; the two were absolutely _nothing_ alike, except in some facial features, and Nathan was nowhere near as psychotic as Dan. He turned back to Nathan and pressed a kiss to his forehead, relieved at seeing the shallow rise and fall of his chest, and wondering if this was the last time he would get to do so. He bit his lip hard to keep from sobbing hysterically, as he felt he was about to.

"Disgusting," Dan spat and he walked to Lucas and grabbed a handful of the blonde hair, making him cry out in surprise and pain. He pulled back and whispered harshly, "So you like being dominated by men do you boy?" Lucas felt himself shake his head frantically; whatever the fuck was going to happen now was not going to be good at all.

"You're nothing but scum just like your father," Dan snarled and yanked Lucas up brutally, jostling his bruised arm even more and making him whimper. He half dragged half carried Lucas to the brown, leather couch and threw him face down. Lucas looked up at him and intense fear washed over him as Dan got a weird glint in his eyes; his heart threatened to beat its way out of his chest and he felt like he was going to throw up. He hoped that someone could hear everything that was happening and call for help or realize that Dan was missing from under house arrest but someone should have realized that hours ago.

"He took everything from me, just like you're trying to now! He took it and he paid for it with his life," he spat maliciously, his eyes wide and crazy and full of unsuppressed hatred for the man.

It took Lucas a moment to process what was just admitted out loud and his stomach sank. "You…you killed my father?" he whispered disbelievingly.

"It was all too easy to run him off the road that night," explained Dan as he stepped closer to the terrified blonde who was trying hard to shrink into the couch, "No one would have suspected that he was run off; it was dark and raining, the perfect conditions for a car accident."

"Wh—why would—you—" he couldn't even form a coherent sentence; his boyfriend's abuser was also his father's murder? He had always believed that his dad's car accident was just that: an accident. But this…this couldn't be true!

"Because he took what was _mine_!" Dan snarled. "Karen Roe belongs to me! She was mine and he _stole_ her from me! Just like you stole my son! And now…now you'll know what it's like to have _everything_ ripped away from you!" He unbuckled his belt and pulled it off in a flash and Lucas could no longer hold back his tears, his terrified sobs loud as he realized what was about to happen.

"N—no—no p—p—please don't do this!" he cried, his head throbbing and his stomach churning. He tried to climb over the back of the couch but was grabbed by the waist and flipped onto his back, Dan's heavy weight settling on top of him and he screamed terrified as he slapped, hit, scratched any part of the man he could reach, trying to stop the inevitable. He felt a fist connect with his stomach and he was winded for a moment but that was all Dan needed to pry his legs apart and unbutton his pants. When he felt his zipper being pulled down, the fear and adrenaline pumped through his body and he fought harder than he had before, screaming and sobbing and pleading with the demented man over him, begging him to stop but Dan didn't care, his face mad and wild with rage and hatred as he pulled down the boy's pants and boxers, ignoring the legs kicking under him trying to get away. He looked as if he were possessed by the devil with his crazed blue eyes and thin lips muttering things too quiet for Lucas to hear over his own shouts. Suddenly he reached up and slapped Lucas hard making the loud cries cease abruptly.

"I'm going to destroy your life the way you've tried to destroy mine," he snarled at the boy under him, his expression morphing into a leer and Lucas felt his heart stop.

"You like it when my son fucks you, slut? Then I'll show you how to take it from a real man."

The terrified blonde sobbed even louder and fought with all the energy he could muster. "No, please, PLEASE!" he yelled as he felt his slacks and boxers reach to just above his knees and he felt himself getting light-headed as Dan wrapped a thick hand around his neck, choking him; his cries increased and he started hyperventilating as Dan yanked his own pants down enough and he felt a rough hand grab the inside of his thigh and he stared at the blinding lights to disappear from this nightmare…

Suddenly Dan cried out and fell over onto the floor and then someone was on him and Lucas vaguely realized that Nathan woke up, his mind and body paralyzed with fear from what just happened.

Dan looked at his son from the floor and for once he felt fear; instead of the frightened, blue eyes that he usually saw, he was met with eyes of pure hatred. He knew that Nathan had the fire to kill him if he wanted; he had gone too far this time.

"You—you'd kill your own father? Over this faggot?" he rasped out, blood trickling from the cut on his head made by the paperweight his son used to hit him and a thin line from his mouth. He smiled manically, "He must be a great fuck."

Something inside Nathan snapped; whether it was the years of abuse he endured from the man, the years he watched his mother suffer, seeing what he almost did to Lucas or a combination of every source of pain that came from this one man who was supposed to be his caretaker and protector, he couldn't be sure if it was all of this or hearing his lover's pleas that caused him to give a battle cry and take the paperweight to Dan's head again and again and again, the blood splattering everywhere not fazing the angry teen in the slightest as the now red object hit its target over and over. He was so intent on beating the man beneath him that he did not hear the door burst open and the frantic voices calling out to him or the arms of his uncle wrapping around him and stopping him from inflicting more damage or Officer Wilcox forcing him backwards away from the unmoving Dan. Blood was covering Nathan's face and once white dress shirt and he looked absolutely feral; his eyes wide with anger and hatred so strong that it nearly blinded him. He could hear the blood rushing in his ears as his eyes narrowed in on the man who made his life a living hell since he was fourteen and only one thought crossed his mind: kill Dan.

He lunged for Dan again, snarling out incoherent phrases that sounded like, "I'll fucking kill him!" but Keith caught him and two more officers were pushing him back. He was dragged and pushed against the wall by his shoulders and Keith's voice was talking to him, "Nathan, it's okay; they're going to take care of Dan, alright? Hey look at me Nate, everything is going to be okay."

Karen had ran over to her son with Brooke and Haley; his sobbing had calmed but the tears were still rolling his pale face and as he gazed at three of the most important women in his life, he felt relief wash over him in buckets. He sat up with Brooke and Haley's help and pulled his pants back up, his mom wrapped him in his arms, her tears hitting his sweaty neck and he grabbed her just as tightly, his sobs returning silently as he felt hands rubbing his back and comforting words like, "It's okay Luke, it's all over honey, you're safe now; everything is going to be okay." Haley had tears falling from her brown eyes as she rubbed Lucas' back and Brooke wrapped an arm around her shoulder, her tears ready to fall but she held them back; she wanted to be strong for her friends, she could deal with her grief later.

She watched as Keith led Nathan outside to keep him from murdering his father and she shuddered; they were lucky that they were able to make it to the beach house in time before Nathan did something he would have regretted. She knew Nathan hated him, there was no doubt, but she knew that he would regret killing him because he was his father. Though from what she saw when she first arrived and saw the state Lucas was in and Nathan bashing away at Dan's head, she wondered if Nathan had snapped to the point that he wouldn't have cared if he did kill him.

"N—Nathan," Lucas choked out past his tears, "wh—where is he?"

"Nathan's fine honey but we need to get you to the hospital," Karen said soothingly, wiping tears from his cheeks. Lucas didn't seem to hear her and he stood up, ignoring the protests coming from the women and swayed a little; the blood loss and the immense pain coming from all his wounds was starting to overwhelm him.

"Nathan, I need to find Nathan," he was muttering to himself in a dazed trance as looked around for any sign of the brunette, "he has to be here, where's Nathan?"

He stumbled outside despite the girls calling him back and looked around; there were police cars scattered across the lawn and on the street; lights had been turned on in the neighboring houses, some of them standing on their porches trying to figure out what was going on. He could hear an ambulance in the distance and see the red lights flashing. There was no moon in the sky, no light to shed on the surreal scene before him; did all of that really just happen? Or was he going to wake up in Nathan's arms like he had been for the past month that they had been living there? Thinking of Nathan again his eyes quickly scanned the area and found him being held back by Keith and two officers and he took off in their direction screaming, "Nathan! Nathan!"

Nathan stopped struggling against the officers and his head snapped in the direction he heard his name; when he spotted Lucas his entire demeanor changed. His eyes lost the anger immediately and they were flooded with relief, his tense jaw relaxed and he seemed to sag against the officers before a loud whimper came from his throat and he pulled forcefully out of the officer's grasps. They made to grab him again but Keith held up a hand in protest; Dan was the farthest thing from his mind right now.

"Lucas!" Nathan cried as the blonde ran straight into him and he crushed him to his chest, his sobs returning full force and Nathan felt his own sobs begin to make their way out of his chest as he clutched onto Lucas for dear life as best he could with his broken arm and buried his nose into the matted hair. He felt trembling arms grab him so tightly he should have been protesting but he couldn't bring himself to mutter anything to him other than, "I love you so much," over and over, the weight of the situation finally crashing down on him and the pain of his fractured led making him drop onto the lawn, never disentangling from the blonde in his arms. Lucas cupped his face and kissed him hard and passionately, pouring the desperation and relief he felt and he felt Nathan kiss him back with equal fervor, reassuring him that he was alright, that _they_ were alright and Dan would never hurt either one of them again.

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><p><strong>Please review and let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! :)<strong>


	14. Chapter 14

**We are almost done with the story :( ****very sad I know, but I have had fun writing this story and I want to thank everyone and anyone that has reviewed, commented, favorited, followed and read this story. And now on with the chapter! Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any characters associated with it.**

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><p>"It's perfectly normal to feel the way you do. The hatred and anger you must feel towards him must be immense. It's alright to own your feelings," said Dr. Mauri Tolson holding her hands crossed in front of her, her black hair up in a bun as she surveyed the young boy—no, young man—before her. When she had first been assigned to see Nathan Scott, she would have <em>never<em> imagined that he had been through the things he had told her. She was fairly surprised how quickly he had opened up to her; their first session was a quiet one, Nathan looking ready to bolt and hide from the world and from what she had been told of his case she didn't blame him. But in the second session, Nathan seemed ready to talk, and as he opened up more and she saw into his life she was determined more than ever to help this young man gain back the life that his father snatched away from him.

"But I almost killed him," he said quietly looking down at his hands, the very hands he spent hours scrubbing blood from. Today they were discussing the events that had happened a little more than two weeks ago. Dan had miraculously survived his son's brutal beating and was taken to the hospital where he was once again brought into custody and charged not only with domestic abuse, sexual abuse of a minor, three counts of attempted murder and one count of attempted rape, but also with the murder of Mitch Roe. He was now awaiting trial in a five by seven cell in the Charlotte County Jail. Nathan, Lucas, Deb, Keith and even Karen were all asked to testify against the man and they had all agreed without hesitation. Nathan wasn't sure if Lucas would want to relive the events of that night again but Lucas said he would relive it as many times as he needed to if it meant Dan was gone for good.

"You acted out of self-defense. He was attacking your fiancé, Nathan; you had to stop him. In situations like that you can't be expected to act rationally, all your brain knows in moments like those is the fight or flight response."

"So you're saying that if I had killed him it would have been a normal reaction?" he asked slightly incredulous.

"I'm saying that your reaction was expected and no one is holding that against you," she said calmly and it was true. The police didn't even bother trying to charge Nathan with nearly murdering his father, the situation screaming that it was self-defense. But he was heavily encouraged by everyone to see a therapist.

"If I had killed him that would have been…okay?" he asked the dark-skinned woman tentatively. The thing Nathan liked most about Dr. Tolson was that she gave him her straight honest answer. She didn't try and sugarcoat anything for him and he was thankful for that.

"Some might say no, others might say it's perfectly acceptable. There is no right or wrong answer for that question Nathan, especially given your circumstances. I think that you didn't want to kill your father, that was never your intention, but when you finally had the power over him like he had over you for years it felt good to finally have him at your mercy and that fueled your rage."

He thought about this; the rage he felt at seeing Lucas at Dan's mercy pleading for his life was more than he could handle. Though he was sexually abused, his father had never actually tried to rape him. The sexual abuse was rare but not once had the man ever done what he had tried to do to Lucas that night. When he had come to after being beaten within an inch of his life the first thing he had noticed was the screaming, someone begging and sobbing and as he became more alert, he realized that it was Lucas screaming for someone to stop. When he had seen them on the couch, had seen Lucas fighting desperately against his father as he pulled down his pants and choked him, he lost it. The only thing that crossed his mind at that moment was Dan could _not_ do this to another person, especially _his_ fiancé.

He had scrambled up quickly adrenaline and rage allowing him to ignore his broken body and allowing him to find the first thing he could use as a weapon: a glass paperweight that used to be a decoration on the destroyed table. He grabbed it and took it to that monster's head without a second thought and the _power_ he had felt when Dan had fallen over made him feel drunk; it was exhilarating that the man was now at _his_ mercy, that he would know what it was like to suffer as he had. Maybe this was why he hit him again and again, relishing in the power that Dan was finally getting what he deserved and it was by his hand, which made it all the more sweeter. If Keith and the police hadn't shown up when they did, he had no doubt he would have killed Dan and he couldn't even begin to feel remorse for it. That bastard deserved to die the moment he pushed his mother down the stairs and his fate was sealed when he forced himself on Lucas.

"Is it…is it bad that I don't feel guilty?" he asked her quietly. "I nearly killed my own father and the only thing I can think is I wished they hadn't shown up so I could have finished him off. I _wanted_ Dan to die and I wanted to be the one to do it. God…I sound just like him!"

"It doesn't make you a bad person Nathan, it makes you human. Your feelings of resentment for your father are very understandable and I can't blame you for wanting to kill him after everything he's done to you. But it's not good to hold on to this rage and pain, because you obviously can't act on your feelings. You should find other outlets of letting go of that anger," she said regarding the young man before her. Nathan was a strong person and she had no doubt he would get through this; she admired him deeply and though she could never admit this out loud, he had to be one of her favorite patients. For him to have gone through what he had and not completely break down was amazing but his willingness to talk to her and open up with his raw feelings of resentment, anger, and pain from over the years made her hold him in the highest respect. He really was an extraordinary young man.

"I know but…I feel like I'm always going to feel like this, like it was something I should have done when I had the chance and I _don't_ want to spend the rest of my life wishing I could have killed my father. I don't want it to consume me and make me bitter like him. He's the last person I want to be like," he ended in a whisper.

"You're already not like him, Nathan. You sought help whereas your father never did. You are dealing with your feelings instead of acting on him; your father can't say the same. You have already taken the necessary steps to ensure you aren't like him and that's a good thing."

"I guess so. That does make me feel a bit better," he sighed and ran his hands through his dark brown hair, his deep, blue eyes looking unseeingly at the floor. "I just hope Lucas doesn't resent me after of this. My dad put him through a lot of hell."

She smiled sympathetically, "I highly doubt that would happen. Lucas seems quite devoted to you Nathan. If he didn't leave you when the incident first happened I don't think he'll leave you during this. But I can tell this is something that bothers you," she said, trying to encourage him to talk about his fiancé. They were one of the topics they hadn't spent much time on but she was more than curious to hear their story. "Tell me about Lucas. How did you get together?"

Nathan let out a small smile and she couldn't help but smile in return. "He's been my best friend since the fourth grade, when his father died—we just found out he was murdered by Dan. He was run off the road," Nathan snorted; how in the hell had Dan ruined so many people's lives was beyond him.

Dr. Tolson smiled sympathetically, "I'm very sorry to hear that. Has Lucas shared his feelings about that with you?"

"No…no we haven't really had time to talk about it," he bit his lip. That was an understatement. He hadn't seen or talked to Lucas in almost a week, not because they were angry with each other but because they wanted to give each other space. To be honest, Nathan had no idea what to say to Lucas; he wanted to stay in denial of the fact that his father nearly raped him, nearly did something to him that he never did to his own son and that his father killed his. The whole thing seemed unreal.

"Have you talked to Lucas since the incident?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Not really…" he trailed off for a moment then looked at her directly. "I honestly don't know what to say to him. My father beat me within an inch of my life but he's never tried to _rape_ me and…and I can't fathom why he would do that to Lucas but not to me." He pressed his lips together in frustration. "I don't understand why my father hates him so much. He tried to keep him from me, never wanted me to pass the ball to him in a basketball game. He…he would always get mad whenever he saw him or when my mother ever mentioned him—and even when she didn't he would always have something mean and degrading to say about him! It's like…it was like he was obsessed with him."

"Your father's obsession with Lucas could have been for a number of reasons that go way back. Your father was very obsessed with you Nathan, you are his whole world. He was obsessed with controlling your future; he was obsessed with keeping you and Lucas apart, he was obsessed with having you to himself and he probably saw Lucas as a threat. Obsession comes in all different forms, Nathan and while you think he was obsessed with your fiancé, he was more obsessed with getting rid of him so he could be the only one to have you."

"He was obsessed with hurting me. He just wanted to keep me miserable," he muttered. "And he's been obsessed with Lucas' mom for years…I think he hates the fact that Lucas isn't his son."

"Perhaps, though something tells me that if he was his son and the two of you were brothers living under the same roof, the abuse still would have happened. There would have been a different trigger that would have come from within and he would have taken it out on you and Lucas."

Nathan sighed, his head starting to hurt. "I'm so confused about everything. I don't know what to think anymore. I feel like I don't even know who I am anymore, like I never knew who I was because I was too scared to find out and my father not approve."

"Well let's start now," she said with a smile and she grabbed a notepad and pen. "What are three facts you can tell me about yourself? Something you know to be positively certain about your personality, your interests, your friends, anything."

Nathan thought about this for a moment. "I like playing basketball. My best friends are Lucas, Haley and Brooke, and I want to get out of Tree Hill and go to college."

"Okay, that's good," she jotted down something and looked back up. "Where do you want to go? Did you get into any of the schools you applied to?"

"I applied to Duke because my father wanted me to, UNC, USC, and some schools in California."

"How many of those offered you basketball scholarships?"

"Duke, University of South Carolina and University of Southern California and Long Beach State."

"That's wonderful Nathan!" she smiled. "You must be proud of yourself!"

"Yeah…I've always wanted to go to California…" he trailed off. She frowned slightly.

"But…?"

"But I don't know what Lucas wants to do and…and I don't want to leave him," he finished quietly. "I'm not going to marry him then leave him for school. I—I'm going to sound like a girl but I don't want to be away from him—if he still wants to even be with me," he laughed bitterly, feeling embarrassed about the tears forming in his eyes. He still loved Lucas, would _always_ love him…but he didn't see how they could get past this. This was too much to handle.

"You don't sound like a girl, Nathan. You sound like you're in love," she wrote down a few more things and smiled kindly at him. "I think you and Lucas need to have a long, overdue conversation."

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

When Nathan said goodbye to Dr. Tolson and walked into the waiting room, he found his mother sitting and reading a home and garden magazine. She looked up and smiled, "Hey how'd it go?"

"Good, we talked a lot," he mumbled as she stood and they both made their way outside to the car. Nathan had been allowed back in the care of his mother when they assessed her and realized that she was forcibly addicted to prescription medications as part of Dan's way to control her. His 18th birthday was also at the beginning of June so there would have been no point in sending him to foster care.

"I'm glad you're talking to someone Nate. It's not such a bad thing, is it?" she teased. He smiled and shook his head; his mother, Karen, Keith and Lucas had begged him to talk to someone about everything he faced. At first, he had denied that there was anything wrong with him but they eventually broke him down; he wanted to pretend that nothing had ever happened, that he was just a normal teen in Tree Hill trying to make it to graduation but he could only pretend for so long, especially since everyone in Tree Hill now knew why his father had been arrested. The pitying stares he received from everyone made him angry and the whispers he heard about him and Lucas and Dan made him ill. Lucky for him, Peyton, Brooke and Haley were there to do damage control; Nathan didn't think he'd ever be so grateful to the girls when they focused everyone's attention on Brooke's love triangle with Chase and Rachel.

"It's not…I just wish that this was all kept private and that my entire high school didn't know about what happened that night," he sighed. "And not just what happened to me but to Lucas too...and then everything's going to come out at trial and then they'll know what I've gone through and I don't want to be exposed like that."

"No one is going to know anything other than what they've been told sweetie. The press is being kept out of the room because minors are involved and the police are going to protect yours and Lucas' identities. No one is ever going to know anything other than Dan was arrested and charged with domestic abuse and the murder of Lucas' father. Everything else will be secret from them, okay?" she soothed as she squeezed his arm. He nodded, still feeling uneasy about the whole thing.

"But he was the mayor of the city! They can't really expect to keep it hidden forever—"

"Something tells me that when all of that comes out, you won't even worry about it. It's all going to be alright Nathan, you'll see." Nathan pressed his lips together and nodded, not wanting to talk about it anymore. They pulled into the driveway and sat in the car for a few moments; their house had been full of police, forensic scientists and detectives the past few days while the press had camped out on their lawn but now no one was there. Nathan stared at the house, not moving to get out of the car. Deb interrupted his thoughts.

"What's wrong honey?" she asked softly. He shook his head.

"I'm scared…I'm scared of my own house," he laughed mirthlessly. "I know I've been sleeping there for the past two weeks but I don't think I can do it anymore. I get nightmares—really, _really_ bad nightmares of every room and everything I ever—" he shook his head. "I don't want to live here anymore mom. I can't do it."

"I know honey, I've been looking for another house for us," she said calmly. "I don't want to stay here either; it scares me too. I don't even want the beach house; since your father has been arrested all the property has gone to me so we can sell both houses and get something for just me and you."

"Good…because I don't think I ever want to go back there either," Nathan muttered, feeling lost all over again. Where the hell was he supposed to live if he was terrified of the memories of every place he could sleep? He knew where he wanted to be but he wasn't sure if Lucas would be alright with that, considering his father nearly raped him.

"Have you talked to him, honey?" she asked quietly, knowing who he was thinking about. Nathan shook his head.

"No…I don't know what to say to him. Not only did my dad try to rape him, he killed his dad. My dad is the reason he grew up without his…how am I supposed to face him after that? Dan fucked up my life and his!"

"Nathan, Dan killing Mitch Roe isn't your fault," Deb said firmly. "You had _no_ idea—none of us knew he killed Luke's father." She sighed, "Dan didn't mess up your life, Nathan. You still have your whole life ahead of you. This is just one part of it and soon it'll be a distant memory. You'll think about it from time to time but it's not going to haunt you the way you think it will."

"How am I supposed to face Karen?" he asked anxiously.

"The same way you've been facing her in all the time you've known Lucas," Deb said with a slight laugh. "Sweetie, you didn't kill Lucas' father! Why would they hate you for something that didn't even have to do with you?"

"I don't know…I guess I just feel guilty because I'm related," he whispered.

"Dan killed Mitch because he was—and still is—in love with Karen. This has nothing to do with you. These problems go way back, way before your father and I even met, before you were even thought of. There's nothing you or I could do now to change that, okay? This isn't your fault, this isn't my fault. This is all Dan's fault and now he's going to pay.

"Okay," he answered quietly; he suddenly felt emotional and grabbed his mother in a hug. He didn't know what he would do without her. After another long moment the pulled apart and they got out the car; Nathan walked around to the door and was surprised to see Lucas sitting on his doorstep.

"Luke?" he questioned, the baby blue eyes meeting his making his heart beat faster. "What are you doing here?"

Lucas looked down uncertainly, chewing his lip, "Uh well…I just—your mom said to come around this time and I just thought I would stop by and…"

Nathan smiled softly; Lucas was so adorable. "Yeah, no problem, let's go to the River court." He turned to his mom who had a knowing smile on her face. "We'll be back."

"Of course, take your time," she said as she handed him the keys and kissed his cheek. She walked to Lucas and kissed his cheek as well before walking inside. Nathan shook his head; his mother was a crafty woman.

"Shall we?"

**xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox**

The two minute car ride was filled with silence, both boys thinking about what they were going to say to the other. They kept stealing glances at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking, often catching each other and blushing before looking away. The got out the car and went to the table that sat on the edge of the basketball court, sitting on top of it. Luckily, no one was out there, giving them privacy.

"How've you been?" Lucas asked quietly. Nathan shrugged.

"Okay, I guess. You?"

"Okay," he muttered. There was silence for a while.

"Are we ever going to talk about it?" Lucas asked finally. Nathan turned to face him.

"Talk about what happened with Dan?"

Lucas nodded. Nathan sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "Which part?"

"All of it," Lucas whispered. "I…I know you probably don't want to talk about it but I need someone to talk to other than my therapist and…and you're the only other one who was there who can…understand."

Nathan immediately felt bad upon hearing how scared Lucas was; he was moping over the fact that his father killed Lucas' and Lucas had needed his best friend to talk to because he had been violated. He felt like a selfish prick for staying away for so long.

"I'm sorry I haven't been around," Nathan started as he grabbed Lucas' hand with both of his. "I just—I didn't know if you even wanted to be around me after all of that. I didn't even know if you would be able to look at me and not see…_him_."

"I don't see Dan when I see you Nate, you look more like your mom anyway," Lucas chuckled and Nathan laughed, feeling better already. "I was scared that after we found out about your dad and mine that you wouldn't want anything to do with me."

"Why would you think that?" Nathan asked with a frown. "My father is the reason you didn't grow up with yours and you thought _I_ wouldn't want to see _you_?"

"I know…it sounds stupid but I just thought that you would have wanted space…that you would look at me and always see a reminder of one of the worsts nights of your life."

"Believe it or not, Lucas, that wasn't the worst night of my life," Nathan laughed. "Yeah it was pretty bad but…we came out to the school and everyone supports us, I won prom king—I got to dance with you like I wanted! Yeah that whole thing happened afterwards but…it was definitely one of the best memories I have."

Lucas smiled at him, "Me too—despite nearly getting raped and all—I couldn't have been happier that prom went better than I had thought it would."

"I'm just glad Dan didn't ruin that for us," Nathan snorted as he wrapped Lucas in his arms. "Then I really might have killed him."

"About that," Lucas looked into his eyes. "I can't imagine what you must be feeling—about all of this actually. I know I'm confused on how to feel and he wasn't even my father!"

"I'm not going to lie, seeing what he was doing, knowing what he was about to do, it broke something in me," Nathan murmured, feeling vulnerable. But he had to keep going, Lucas needed to know exactly how he felt. "I never…I never thought he would take it that far, you know? And when I got that paperweight and just started hitting him and hitting him…for once I felt in control, for once I wasn't scared of my father because _I_ had the upper hand. _I_ was the one beating him and it felt good. It felt good to hurt him the way he hurt me for so long, the way he hurt my mom, the way he was about to hurt you."

Lucas was quiet, taking this all in; he couldn't deny that he would have done the same if Nathan were in his position. If he were to be honest, he probably would have killed Dan and he had a feeling Nathan would have if Keith and his mom hadn't come in.

"I sound like him," Nathan said bitterly and Lucas hit him lightly.

"No you don't," he said firmly. "You're _nothing_ like that monster, Nathan. What he put you through—he deserved a taste of his own medicine! He deserved to know what it was like to feel someone beat him so badly he thought he would die. He needed to be taught that lesson and you were the one to teach it to him, like a poetic justice." Nathan chuckled at that. "You don't sound like Dan at all—if he wouldn't have attacked you, then you wouldn't have retaliated, simple as that. I think what you're feeling is normal."

"They want me to stay away from him," Nathan said quietly. "They think that if I see him again I might get angry to the point of killing him."

"And it would be no less than he deserved," Lucas said with finality. "Don't tell my mother I told you this, but she told Keith she sometimes wishes they would have just let you finish him off. She thinks he deserved it too."

"How is she doing with…everything?" Nathan asked, guilt seeping through him again at the thought of Lucas' father. Lucas hit him again lightly.

"What was that for?"

"Stop blaming yourself for my dad's death. It wasn't your fault and it had nothing to do with you," Lucas said firmly. "Dan's issues with my mother go way back, way before me, you and your mom were even in the picture."

"That's what my mom said—have you two been talking behind my back?" Nathan asked jokingly and Lucas shook his head, laughing.

"No, your mom just understands that this was something that none of us could have seen coming, nor can we do anything to change it. It is what it is, Nate. Dan Scott is obsessed with my mother and you and we can't change that."

"He's obsessed with you too," Nathan added. Lucas shook his head.

"Not nearly as much as you; he was obsessed with keeping me away from you but his obsession with you is way deeper. It seemed like he wanted you all to himself, he wanted to control you and live vicariously through you. I'm sure if you were straight and he met your girlfriends he probably would have tried to get with them just so he could be like you. He just wanted to hurt me, but you were his true obsession. He was mad because he thought I was taking you away."

"That's disturbing," Nathan laughed, though a part of him knew this was true. He believed his father was obsessed with Lucas just because he wanted to rape him but rape was an act of violence; Dan had never done that to Nathan because he loved him too much, though he had a twisted way of showing it. He beat him into a bloody mess nearly every time he came home! How was that showing someone love? Nathan surmised that in Dan's hopelessly twisted mind, that was the only way he knew how.

"You asked me how my mother was," Lucas said, looking off beyond the court. "She upset…she will be for a while but she has Keith. He'll get her through it."

Nathan nodded and they were silent once more, each getting lost in their own thoughts.

"So…where do we go from here?" Lucas asked, stroking Nathan's hand. "I mean I guess there's the trial we have to get through and no telling how long that's going to take."

"I don't want to stay here for it," Nathan said softly; he knew in his heart when he was released from the hospital that night that he could no longer stay in Tree Hill. This was the place of his birth and the place where he grew up, but now it served as a painful reminder of the broken childhood he had and he couldn't imagine starting a family here. He would do his part and put his father away for life, then he would leave. "I don't think I can stay here, Lucas."

"I know," he murmured; he figured Nathan would want to get out of here the first chance he got, he couldn't say he blamed him. "Where do you want to go?"

"California," he said after a moment. "USC is offering me a scholarship."

"Nathan that's great!" Lucas exclaimed and he kissed his cheek. "I'm proud of you baby."

"Thanks," he murmured and kissed his boyfriend soundly. "I know you got scholarships at UNC and that one from Washington State so I wouldn't blame you if you went—"

"Shut up Nathan," Lucas interrupted. "You and I both know that I'm going where you go. I got into UCLA so I'll just go there and then transfer into USC after two years."

"But what about basketball? Don't you want to keep going with that?" Nathan asked bewilderedly. "You're a hell of a player Lucas, you shouldn't quit."

"I won't, I'm sure they have clubs I can join," Lucas chuckled. "I can keep it as a hobby but…I think I want to be a writer."

"Of course you would, bookworm," Nathan chuckled. "When are you going to let me read that book you started writing?"

"When I'm halfway done, I'll let you have a peek."

"Okay, I'll hold you to that," he chuckled, then he sighed. "Why would you give up basketball for me?"

"Basketball is your _dream_, Nate. I would never tell you to give that up and I don't want to leave you."

"No it's not," Nathan said as he lifted Lucas' chin so their eyes met. "_You're_ my dream, Luke. Don't ever forget that."

* * *

><p><strong>Please review and let me know what you think! Thank you :)<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**I'm so, so, so, so, SO, sorry for the long wait. This chapter just didn't want to be written but the inspiration hit today and voila! I am happy to present the last chapter of the story! I want to thank everyone who has read, favorited, reviewed, and alerted this story. You guys are awesome and I appreciate you taking the time to read this. As this was the first story I ever posted on here, I'm sad to see it go but I'm also happy that I kept my promise and finished it like I wanted to. Please review and let me know what you think. Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Tree Hill or any characters associated with the show.**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe this is about to happen," Lucas muttered as he switched the tassel on his cap to the right side. "This all feels surreal."<p>

"It's crazy how fast four years has gone by—stop playing with it, you're going to rip it out," his mother smacked his hand away from his head. Lucas gave her a small glare but smiled at her laugh.

"I'm so proud of you honey. After everything you've been through this past year you still managed to graduate," she kissed his cheek and drew him into her arms. "You're everything I wanted you to be and then some."

"Thanks mom," Lucas whispered back as he hugged her hard. A knock on the door interrupted them and Nathan walked in, the same blue robes and cap adorning his tall figure.

"You ready?" he asked breathlessly, his cheeks flushed and rosy. "The girls are in the car."

"Yeah," he kissed his mom on the cheek and followed his fiancé out the door.

**000000000000000000000**

"Nathan Scott!" the announcer called. The round of applause was near deafening as the star basketball player walked to the stage to receive his diploma. Since Dan's arrest, Nathan and Lucas had been the hottest topic in Tree Hill. Rumors spread through the mill like a wildfire on what happened between Nathan, his father and his lover that night and each one was wilder than the last; at first it bothered Nathan that people were constantly talking about him and Lucas but he was relieved that no one actually knew the truth.

The trial was quick and speedy, much to everyone's relief; within two weeks everyone had given their testimony, Nathan going last and ensuring Dan be sentenced the maximum penalty. There was not one dry eye in the courtroom as Nathan divulged every beating he endured, every traumatizing event Dan put him and his mother through, how he ran to Lucas for comfort and finally how he nearly killed his own father to save his fiancé. The jury was quick to decide to put Dan away for life in a maximum security prison in Virginia without the possibility for parole. The prosecutor had pushed for the death penalty but had settled for life in prison.

Nathan smiled as he shook Coach Whitey's hand and hugged him hard, listening as he told him how proud he was. When he pulled back and looked out at the crowd he saw his mother and Andy, his mother's boyfriend of two weeks, cheering and smiling for him. Next to him Keith and Karen were all smiles as the clapped; beyond them he saw his three best friends along with his teammates and Peyton cheering the loudest. His heart stuttered when his eyes landed on Lucas and he wondered for probably the hundredth time how the hell he got so lucky.

After everyone had received their diplomas the graduates and their families found each other; laughter rang through the halls as families embraced their graduates, smiles on everyone's faces despite the fact that their town was recently rocked by scandal. As Nathan navigated through the crowds in search of his group he was congratulated by many parents and students alike; when the truth had come out about Nathan's home life he had received nothing but support and love from all his friends and classmates. They were shocked that one of their own had endured something so horrible, especially from someone who was the mayor of the city and no one noticed except for the people he told.

"Nathan!" Lucas called him over to their group. When he was close enough Lucas grabbed him tightly, kissing his cheek discretely.

"Congrats baby, you did it," he whispered. Nathan pulled back and kissed his forehead, aware that people were watching and cooing.

"_We_ did it," he whispered back, touching their foreheads together. "I wouldn't have gotten through this without you."

"Same," the blond kissed him, earning longing sighs from Brooke, Haley, Peyton and others around them while the boys just shook their heads with amused smiles.

"Get a room you two! You guys are too cute for your own good!" Brooke hit Lucas' shoulder and he laughed.

"No one asked you to watch Brooke! I think you're a voyeur."

"Only when it comes to you guys," she winked, making Peyton and Haley laugh. Karen, Keith, Andy and Deb found them at that moment and they congratulated all the teens with hugs and handshakes.

"So who's throwing the wild graduation party?" Keith joked as he eyed all of them. "And who is providing the alcohol?"

"Guilty!" Brooke raised her hand. "But you guys can't say we don't deserve it."

"Just be careful!" Deb laughed. "Don't start the beginning of your lives by ending up in jail or the hospital."

"We'll try not to," Nathan joked.

After another hour of greeting parents and taking pictures Brooke told everyone that Rachel was co-hosting the party with her in the woods later that night. Nathan and Lucas were about to hop in the car and follow their friends when Keith stopped them.

"We have something to tell you guys," he started as he wrapped an arm around Karen's waist. Nathan and Lucas shared a look before looking back at them.

"We already figured you guys were together when Keith started spending the night and I saw him using our bathroom at four in the morning one time," Lucas laughed. "We're cool with it."

"As happy as I am for your support, that's not it," Keith laughed at his godson.

"Lucas…how would you feel about having a sibling?" Karen asked with an anxious smile. Nathan's mouth dropped slightly and Lucas laughed in surprise.

"Really?"

"Really." Lucas beamed at them.

"That's great! Really, that's…I'm happy for you guys," he hugged them both tightly. He pulled back so Nathan could have his turn.

"Thanks guys, we are too," Keith sighed as he rubbed Karen's stomach. Nathan watched them, unaware of the longing expression on his face; Lucas grabbed his hand and squeezed gently.

"There's something else we need to give you," Karen reached into her purse and grabbed two pieces of paper. "This is your graduation present from us."

Nathan took the papers and his eyes widened when he saw what they were for, "You're serious?"

"Definitely, you guys deserve it. And they're non-refundable so you have no choice but to go," Keith laughed. Lucas laughed in surprise again and looked at his mother in shock.

"How did you…?"

"Deb and Andy helped us—it was helpful that he had been there before and he knows of the best spots. You guys will have a good time, I know you will," she murmured with a smile. Nathan couldn't help but hug them again, hardly believing how blessed he was.

"Thank you," he whispered. Keith squeezed his shoulder and pulled back to look into his eyes.

"You deserve it Nate," he sighed. "I never told you how sorry I was for leaving the way I did and I will regret that every day. I know that I'm not your real father but…I hope that you know you can come to me for anything at all. Same with you Lucas."

"You've been a better father to me than he ever was," Nathan murmured. "You saved my life…I should be thanking you Uncle Keith. If it weren't for you I'd probably be dead."

Keith smiled sadly and squeezed Nathan's shoulder again; Karen wiped away a few tears that had run down her face.

"Go on you two—get out of here. Go have fun but be careful!" The boys laughed and they hugged them each again before getting in the car and driving to the graduation party.

* * *

><p>"They're letting you go to Italy by yourselves?" Brooke exclaimed. "My parents would never let me do that!"<p>

"I guess it helps we're getting married—it's for our honeymoon," Nathan laughed.

"Don't be surprised if I pop out of your suitcase. Italy sounds amazing!" Peyton gushed as she leaned against Jake. "You guys are fucking lucky!"

"If you pop out my suitcase don't be surprised when I abandon you!" Lucas joked. "I honestly can't believe they did this—and Andy picked the hotel for us!"

"You guys deserve this though…I'm happy you guys are going to get out of here for a while," Haley smiled softly. "It'll do you guys some good."

"I think it will too," Nathan tossed back the rest of his drink. "If we could afford to take you guys with us we would."

"It's cool, we'll just settle for going to the wedding," Skillz laughed. "I still can't believe y'all gettin' married in less than two weeks."

Lucas smiled as all his friends started talking about their wedding and summer plans; he could scarcely believe that he was about to become the other Mr. Scott too. He looked at Nathan and their eyes met and he could tell Nathan was thinking the same. Nathan smiled at him and he returned it; he couldn't believe he was about to spend the rest of his life with the best friend he'd known since he was nine-years-old, the boy who he played video games with into all hours of the night, who would spend their days off of school with on the roof of his mom's café, who would drop everything in less than a minute if he needed him.

Eventually Brooke ushered everyone outside to join everyone else and they enjoyed the rest of the evening with the people they had known all their lives as they celebrated the end of one chapter and started the beginning of another.

* * *

><p>Nathan clenched and unclenched his fists nervously as he watched more people taking their seats; he saw his mother smiling at him and he gave her a tentative one in return.<p>

"Nathan you look ready to run away," Keith laughed as he clapped his back.

"I'm not…I'm just nervous I guess," he muttered. His tux was suddenly becoming too hot and he had to resist the urge to take his tie off. "Does everyone get this nervous on their wedding day?"

"Well I've never been married so I couldn't tell you," Keith joked. "But I imagine it goes away."

"You ain't got nothing to be nervous about—you're about to marry the love of your life," Skillz laughed. "Y'all gon be alright Nate. You and Luke can make it through anything."

"Thanks man," he muttered as he hugged his teammate. The minister walked around to the front and smiled at Nathan.

"We're ready to begin."

Nathan let out a breath, "Alright."

He didn't think he'd ever been so nervous for anything before, not even the championship game against Charlotte they had won this past April. The music started and he thought he might pass out; he had been waiting for this day for as long as he'd been in love with Lucas! Why was he so scared all of a sudden? He watched as Haley was escorted by Chris and Brooke by Chase, each wearing strapless white summer dresses that flowed in the wind. He heard a sharp intake of breath from Keith and he looked up; the moment he did he felt his heart stop.

Lucas was being escorted down the aisle by Karen; she looked gorgeous in her flowing crème strapless dress and her shiny black hair done in an elegant bun, courtesy of Brooke. But it was the sight of his soon-to-be-husband that took his breath away. He had seen Lucas in a tuxedo plenty of times, but the white tux he was donning made him look like an angel, his windswept blonde hair was loose and free and his eyes…his eyes seemed to sparkle with his bright smile. When he reached the alter and Nathan took his hand, he felt all his nerves disappear and he knew he was making the right decision; he was going to spend the rest of his life with his best friend, the man of his dreams and he couldn't have been happier.

"Hey," Lucas murmured quietly. Nathan returned it with a smile and they both turned to face the minister. The waves crashed along the shore and the birds chirped merrily as they flew high in the air; the light breeze created from the waves washed over all of them as they watched two men who had been through so much become united in matrimony.

"Please give your vows," the minister turned to Lucas first. Lucas raised his eyes to look into Nathan's and he took a deep breath.

"From the day that we first met I knew that you would be important to me," Lucas started, his voice carrying so everyone could hear him. "When my father died…I thought that nothing would be okay again and I didn't know how I was supposed to go on without him. But when we went to recess on the first day of fourth grade and you came and sat on the edge of the playground by me and asked me if I wanted the other half of your apple I knew I would be okay," everyone laughed at that. Nathan chuckled lightly.

"I love you with all my heart but sometimes the words don't even describe how I feel for you. I could tell you that a hundred times and it would never surmise how much I feel for you. You came into my life when I needed it the most and you became my biggest blessing. I'll never be able to thank you enough for that," Lucas cupped his face with one hand, not being able to resist touching him. "I love you Nathan and I will always love you, for better or for worse, I'll love you through it all."

Karen and Deb watched them with watery smiles, wiping the tears out of their eyes; Brooke discretely wiped her eyes while Haley let hers flow freely as she watched her best friends share with all their friends and family how deeply they felt for each other.

Nathan smiled, feeling tears starting to gather in his own eyes but he held them back; he took a deep breath as he prepared to bear his soul to the man he loved and everyone important that he knew.

"Words alone can't describe how grateful I am to have you in my life," he started. "When my…when my father first hit me, I didn't know what to do or who I could even talk to about it. I ran to your house and you didn't even press me to tell you what happened, you just held me and told me that everything would be alright and when I did tell you, you promised me that you would never let it happen again when you could help it. That's when I knew that I was in love with you and that I would never fall in love with anyone else. You saved my life Lucas; when things were at their worst you were there to tell me everything would be okay. You were there when things were at their worst and when things became so unbearable I didn't know which way to turn. You never once left my side to face him alone and I will always love you for that."

There was not one dry eye in the area as Nathan spoke; even Lucas had tears rolling down his face as he watched Nathan pour his heart out to him.

"Sometimes I wonder if we met by chance or if it was fate and I always come to this conclusion: everything happens for a reason. We were fated to meet because you are the other half of me and I couldn't imagine being without you. I'll follow you wherever you go because there is no me without you. I couldn't imagine my life without you Lucas and I never want to. I can't wait to start the rest of my life with you," he finished in a soft voice, though everyone heard him. Lucas gazed at him with all the love he felt at the moment before he kissed him passionately.

"Little early boys," the minister chuckled. Everyone laughed and the boys blushed when they pulled back. "We'll be there soon."

The minister was right; not five minutes later was he pronouncing Nathan and Lucas partners. Their first kiss shared as husband was something everyone would remember for the rest of their lives because it was one of the most beautiful displays of love anyone had ever seen.

**000000000000000000000000000**

"I want pictures and at least bring me back a shirt! Or a keychain or something!" Brooke whined as they approached the airport. "How much is a plane ticket to Italy?"

"About $3,000. We only got a discount because the travel agent also happened to be engaged to his boyfriend of five years," Deb laughed. "He just about died when I showed him a picture of Lucas and Nathan."

"That's a little creepy," Nathan chuckled. "You didn't let him keep it did you?"

"Of course not! What kind of mother would I be?"

"Alright guys, we're here," Keith pulled up to the curb and the eight people piled out of the rented van; Nathan and Lucas went around the back and pulled out their two suitcases while their family congregated on the sidewalk. When they came around Haley threw her arms around both of them in a tight hug.

"You guys have fun," she whispered. "And actually leave the hotel room to go see the city."

"We will…eventually," Lucas laughed. Nathan shot him a look and he smirked.

They hugged Keith, Karen, Brooke and Deb; Andy smiled as Nathan shook his hand. He had been weary of him at first, he had no idea if he would be any worse than his father but the more time he spent around him the more he liked him. He was good for his mother and he was happy she found someone who treated her better than Dan ever did.

"You guys have fun and be careful," Andy hugged Nathan and Lucas individually. "You guys really deserve this."

"Thanks Andy," Nathan pulled back and smiled at them all again before taking Lucas' hand and walking through the sliding doors.

* * *

><p>When Nathan and Lucas returned to Tree Hill a week later nothing had really changed, yet it didn't stay the same either. They spent as much time as they could with their friends and family before everyone had to go their separate ways but it wasn't bittersweet like Nathan thought it would be. He was excited to start his life with his new husband in a new state far away from the horrors he'd faced growing up. He would miss Tree Hill, it was his home after all, but he didn't think he would be able to find the strength to return to it anytime soon after he left. Too much had happened there for him to be able to carry on and start a family here. He needed a new start so he could heal from the memories.<p>

Summer flew by and soon it was the beginning of August. Haley was the first to leave to Stanford and she tearfully promised that she would keep in touch with Brooke, Lucas and Nathan when they joined her in California. Brooke and Peyton were next, leaving for L.A and planning on becoming roommates while Brooke started up her fashion line and Peyton to pursue music. One day in late August Lucas received a phone call from the coach of the USC; they had received his basketball tryout video and they wanted to add him to their team. Lucas briefly wondered if this was Nathan's doing but his husband was just as surprised as he was when he told him.

"But I already picked my classes for UCLA! And do you think they'd let us play together if they knew we were married?"

"I'm sure they'd over look that—you would be a great assesst to the team," Keith laughed. "You should play Luke, it's a great opportunity."

"And we'd get to stay together," Nathan murmured. Lucas smiled and nodded.

"I'll talk to them tomorrow."

Nathan was sad he would be leaving his mother; he'd grown so close to her over the years because of Dan and he always thought that if they ever got away from Dan, they would be together.

"Honey, I can always come visit you. You know Andy likes to travel and he happens to have a house in Beverly Hills," Deb smiled. "I'll be there for every game, don't worry."

"I know…it'll just be weird without you around."

"But you have Lucas now. And Brooke and Haley and Peyton will be close to you guys too."

The time came faster than they thought and soon both boys were packing their things in boxes to move them to California. Lucas was sitting on his bed, looking through his box of old pictures of him, Nathan and all their friends from over the years. He was so lost in his nostalgia that he didn't hear the door open.

"Shouldn't you be packing?" Karen asked as she sat next to him. Lucas hummed and handed her the stack of pictures.

"I just wanted to go through these again before I packed them somewhere."

She looked through the stack, laughing occasionally, "You guys were so weird when you were younger."

"No, we just knew how to have fun," he smiled at a picture of him, Nathan, Brooke and Haley on the roof of his mother's café playing mini-golf. "I can't believe that this was so long ago. I still remember when most of these were taken!"

"Time flies when you get older. Now you're married and about to start the next chapter of your life."

"It's all so crazy…I never thought things would turn out like this. But I'm glad they did," he placed the lid back on the box once all the pictures were back inside. "I wonder what Dad would say if he was here."

"He would be proud of you, just like I am," Karen wrapped an arm around her son. "He's been watching over you and I know he's so happy for you."

"I know," he smiled. He would always miss his father but the pain of his passing had lessened over time and his friends and Nathan had healed his heart. He would always have a special place for his father but he didn't feel the pain like he once did.

Lucas and his mother sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's presence and reminiscing on old times when Nathan came through the side door. "You ready Lucas?"

"Yeah, just about," he kissed his mother on the cheek and put the box of pictures inside a box filled with books. "You can start packing them in the van."

"Keith did most of them already. Said you were too busy crying to even help him."

"He's such a liar," Lucas laughed as he grabbed a box. "He just wants to get rid of me quicker."

It took them half an hour to pack the rest of the boxes and another half an hour of saying goodbye to Lucas mother and Keith and promising to come back when the baby was born. Lucas didn't feel like crying as he watched his house getting smaller in the distance; he was happy and excited because, as he mother had said, he was about to start a new chapter in his life with the man he loved more than anything. He felt Nathan grab his hand and Lucas laced their fingers together, squeezing gently.

"I can't believe this is it," Nathan murmured, eyes never leaving the road. "We're getting out of here for good."

"We'll come back someday," Lucas replied. 'When you're ready to face this again, we will together."

Nathan hummed in agreement; he didn't know if he would ever be ready but if he had Lucas by his side, maybe he would someday.

"Before we leave, there's something I want to do," Nathan murmured quietly; Lucas watched him for a moment before he nodded.

"Of course, I'll go with you. I'll wait outside."

"Thank you," he leaned over and kissed his blonde husband's forehead.

* * *

><p>The prison was everything Nathan expected it to be; grey, gloomy and surrounded by a tall electric fence. He gave Lucas a small smile before walking inside and asking the receptionist to see Dan Scott. He was led to a room with a row of chairs and telephones, the two desks separated by a thick wall of glass. Nathan was grateful; if he were able to touch Dan he had no idea what he would be capable of doing.<p>

His heart pounded in his chest as he waited for his father to be led out of his cell; he waited ten minutes before Dan was escorted by two guards wearing a bright orange jumpsuit and handcuffs on his wrists. The guard on his left unlocked them before they stepped back from him. Dan stared at him in shock before he picked up the phone; Nathan swallowed heavily and did the same.

"Nathan," he greeted casually wearing the standard orange jumpsuit that all inmates wore. There were a couple of bruises on his face and Nathan felt a twinge of satisfaction; his father was in here for good and he was never going to hurt him again.

"I was told that you all have restraining orders against me," he lowered his eyes when he said this. He honestly never thought he would see his wife—ex-wife now—or his son again after everything he had done to them. It tugged at his heart to know that his son feared him, that the people he once led in this great city wanted to send him to his death for his crimes but he couldn't blame them. He had done horrible things to the people he was supposed to care about and now he was paying the price like Nathan said he would. "Why are you here?"

"I—I don't know," he said staring at the man who nearly ruined him and wondered for the hundredth time why he was here. "I guess I wanted some sort of closure…maybe an explanation…but no explanation is going to be good enough for me to understand why you put me through hell."

Dan was silent; he honestly had no justification for why he did the things he did. He killed Mitch Roe out of anger, this he knew, but the beatings he inflicted on Nathan and Deb and the way he forced himself on Mitch's son…he had no reason other than hatred and envy in his heart that he couldn't cope with.

"I wanted to tell you that I got basketball scholarship offers. Full rides from Duke and other places," Nathan said without a hint of emotion.

Dan smiled slightly, "That's great Nathan, I always knew you were destined for greatness on the court."

"But I'm not going to Duke."

He stared, "Why not? It's a great school Nathan."

"So is USC," he said, his eyes boring into his father's. "That's where I'm going."

"That…that's good Nathan," Dan said finally. "I'm glad you're going somewhere where you'll be happy."

"I'm leaving today. I'll come back when Keith and Karen have their baby but after that I won't be coming back at all. Tree Hill is my home but it's also the place where you took my childhood and turned it into a living nightmare. I love Tree Hill but I can't stand the memories of what you put me and mom through."

Dan nodded; he didn't blame Nathan, honestly. He had done terrible things to him and to Lucas and his family. It didn't surprise him, although it did hurt, that he would never see his son again.

"There's something else I want you to know," Nathan said quietly and he flashed his left hand to Dan. He didn't understand what he was supposed to be looking at but then he caught it: a plain silver band around his ring finger.

"Despite everything you did to us, you didn't tear us apart. We got married after graduation and all our friends and family were there, happy for us. He's mine and I'm his. Forever," he said softly. "We're starting our new lives in California, away from you and away from everything you put us through. This is the last time you'll see me," he said standing up, Dan's look of surprise never leaving his face. "Goodbye Dan."

"Wait!" Dan said and Nathan paused. The jaded man looked at his son and realized that Nathan was no longer the scared boy he used to beat into submission; he had grown into a man who fought hard for everything he wanted and got more than that in the end. His son was about to start his new life across the country away from the man who gave him so much hardship and pain with the love of his life and a family that loved and supported him. In that moment Dan wished with all his heart that he could take back everything he had done just so he could be a part of his son's life, the life that was about to blossom into something wonderful. But he would always be the ugly reminder of what his son was leaving, a part of his past that he would never want to revisit. He briefly wondered if Nathan would have children, if he and Lucas would adopt a little boy and if they would talk about him, how he treated his son like trash and hit him and his ex-wife or if they wouldn't mention him at all and make up a story of how he died a long time ago. These thoughts swirled inside his head as he took in Nathan's form and he uttered two words.

"I'm sorry."

Nathan stared at him; after all this time of wondering why Dan did what he did to him he wanted his father to care for him, to love him as a father should his son. And now that it seemed his father felt remorse for everything he had done…Nathan couldn't bring himself to care.

"So am I," he said quietly. "Goodbye."

**0000000000000000000000000000 000**

When Nathan exited the precinct, Lucas was sitting outside waiting for him; he turned to gaze at him and wrapped his arms around Nathan's neck when he was close enough.

"Okay?" he asked. Nathan nodded and pressed their foreheads together.

"I feel better than I have in a long time. I just needed to tell him that I wasn't going to let him stop me from moving on."

"I'm glad you told him," Lucas said truthfully. "He deserves to know that he's not a part of our lives anymore."

Nathan smiled and kissed him sweetly, "I love you Lucas Scott. Always and forever."

"Forever isn't long enough," Lucas whispered before pecking him again and taking him by the hand, leading him to the car; with one last look at the police station they hopped in the car and drove off past everything they knew and onto the highway until they were out of North Carolina and on their way to their new beginning.

* * *

><p><strong>That's it folks! Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review! And check out my other stories as well! See you next time :)<strong>


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